Hello. Who is this person who wants to represent Ward 7 on Northampton’s School Committee? Welp:

 

• I’m a writer, editor, and recovering journalist who has spent my career working for newspapers, websites, and magazines, writing about health, culture, spirituality, real estate, yoga, and parenting. I’ve written features for the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and other publications, including the New York Times, Yoga Journal, Women’s Health, GreatSchools.org, CNN.com, ABCnews.com, Beliefnet.com, Breathe magazine, and ReadersDigest.com. (You can read some of my writing here.) My work taught me about asking the right questions and listening, whether I was talking to a child psychology expert about tattling or Lou Reed about his meditation album. It also helped me learn how to parse inflated claims from data-driven facts. And as an editor, I mentored many writers, helping them to do the same.

 

• Confession: I did not go to public schools. I grew up in New York City in the 1970s and 80s and attended mostly Quaker schools. No bonnets! (A lot of folks confuse them with the Amish.) It was a strong, values-based education based on the tenets of Quakerism: simplicity, integrity, equality, peace, service, and community. Weekly silent meetings taught us to center and listen to ourselves and one another, not ceding our power to any authority but the light within and the community. (They were also a great place to pass notes with friends.)

 

• I went to a liberal arts college in the Midwest, Beloit College, where I majored in Creative Writing with a minor in Women’s Studies. Then, after working as a writer/editor for six years, I got my master’s in journalism at Columbia University. Again, learning to inquire, listen, research, and assemble facts into a whole that reflected the reality of a situation.

 

• I’ve lived in Northampton since the very snowy winter of 2015, when my kiddo was a toddler. My husband is from Brattleboro, V.T., and I spent the summer of 1995 living in Northampton in an apartment on Pleasant Street while working as an intern for the Valley Advocate. I first got to know the city by writing about the Lesbian Festival, Pulaski Park skaters, and more. We decided that the Pioneer Valley had the right mix of community, coffee, culture, nature, and good schools to make the leap.

 

• As a young adult, I survived cancer and a close call on 9/11. Both of those experiences schooled me in staying centered in a crisis and connecting with community and neighbors.

 

• I’ve been a storyteller in several Valley Voices story slams.

 

• What else? In our beautiful valley, I garden, read do puzzles(jigsaw and the entire NYT suite of word games), go to my son’s many basketball and soccer games, have coffee with friends, and sit on my HOA’s board, while I write for a national magazine about real estate and gear up a small business. I’m super-excited to step into this next role with an incredible group of committed, caring people to help stabilize and grow our schools. Because in a time of national chaos and service cuts, we can model sustainable, fully supported education for all kids.