Why are you running for the Somerville Community Land Trust Board of Directors?

First and foremost, I am running for the SCLT Board of Directors because I am excited and passionate about the Community Land Trust model to slow displacement and build community wealth. I am additionally running for the Board in my role as a Community Organizer at the Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS) because I hope to continue building a strong relationship between our organizations. I believe that CAAS & SCLT’s missions are closely related, and I would like to continue building communication and collaboration. Additionally, in my role at CAAS, I coordinate a team of volunteers called the Anti Displacement Research Team that tracks, researches, and canvasses building sales in Somerville. I would like to better coordinate this work to also support SCLT's goals. I would like to use my skills and experience to support the growth of a sustainable community land trust in Somerville.

What is your vision or goals for SCLT, Somerville or affordable housing?

I hope that SCLT is able to grow in size and scale to allow it to purchase more buildings. I hope that tenant organizing at CAAS is able to force more sales to the land trust, which will help stabilize land values in Somerville. I hope that the SCLT is able to build a strong solidarity network in Somerville and continue its political education work. I dream of a Somerville without displacement, and believe all Somerville residents deserve to be safely and equitably housed, and think land trusts can play a key role in working towards this goal.

What skills, knowledge, life experience or expertise will you bring as a Board member?

I have extensive experience working in housing that I would bring to SCLT as a board member. As a Housing Analyst at Central New York Fair Housing, I completed mapping and research projects about housing trends in the Syracuse area, which would help me in analyzing the local housing market. As a Housing Advocate at CAAS, I learned extensively about the tenants rights in Massachusetts and the affordable housing landscape in Somerville, which has given me a strong understanding of local conditions from a tenants rights perspective. In my current role as a Community Organizer at CAAS, I have learned the importance of tenant organizing and built many meaningful relationships with Somerville tenants and community partners, which has built my skills in recruiting, training, and maintaining volunteers. These experiences have also given me perspectives on many non-profit dynamics that would be useful in a Board role.

In addition to attending monthly Board meetings, how do you see yourself being active in SCLT?

I see myself being active in SCLT through volunteer and tabling events as I am able, and by hopefully collaborating at more community events through CAAS. I also see myself promoting the land trust's work in the community.

Why are you running for the Somerville Community Land Trust Board of Directors?

As a cooperative developer working for a non profit I have seen the need to cross pollinate between the cooperative and CLT movement. This synergy between movements is the pinnacle of what the solidarity economy is, we must work together in order to build an economy that works for all of us.

What is your vision or goals for SCLT, Somerville or affordable housing?

To provide multiple models of affordability, rent to own, limited equity, as well as the possibility of moving into commercial to preserve local and small businesses.

What skills, knowledge, life experience or expertise will you bring as a Board member?

Cooperative governance and democratic decision making is core to the work I do currently, but have also had experience with acquisition of commercial property.

In addition to attending monthly Board meetings, how do you see yourself being active in SCLT?

Currently share information on socials about SCLT work and will continue to do so. Will also be able to advocate for SCLT through multiple coalitions I'm currently apart of.

Why are you running for the Somerville Community Land Trust Board of Directors?

I believe housing affordability is one of the most fundamentally important components of justice in our society. As a longtime resident of Somerville and Cambridge, and as a homeowner and former financial industry worker, I want to use my voice as a community member and use my financial expertise to support the sustaining and expansion of the Community Land Trust. In the past, I have assumed there are others more deserving and more knowledgeable who belong in leadership positions, rather than me. But in the wake of the presidential election, I am challenging myself to step up and to raise my hand, to say that I believe my best efforts at responsible stewardship would be useful, and that I want to do my part to see institutions I believe in thrive, and our community benefit.

What is your vision or goals for SCLT, Somerville or affordable housing?

I want Somerville to be a place where people can afford to live, work, raise children, and have their children be able to live here too, in all parts of the city—not only in a few designated areas. The Community Land Trust is a lever of action to move us towards greater housing affordability, community integration, and equitable access to schools and public services; and it is also an important model for creating the change we want to see now, not waiting for the statehouse to act. To that end, I would like to see the SCLT gain institutional expertise in managing the property it currently has, and expand its functional and financial capacity to manage more buildings well.

What skills, knowledge, life experience or expertise will you bring as a Board member?

Most importantly, from growing up in Cambridge, I feel I deeply understand the value of economic diversity, racial diversity, and cultural diversity to the entire city. Spending time at friends' homes in Cambridge's Jefferson Park and Roosevelt Towers affordable housing projects, I have seen how important housing affordability is to the community's ability to be truly rich in these ways. I am also a longtime real estate property owner and manager; I own three units, in Somerville, Cambridge and Brooklyn, NY. In addition, I worked for six years in the financial industry, and was a registered financial advisor.

In addition to attending monthly Board meetings, how do you see yourself being active in SCLT?

I am passionate about public communication, and I would take an active role in helping the SCLT reach every person who might be interested in engaging—be they a prospective tenant or homeowner, a donor, or volunteer.

Why are you running for the Somerville Community Land Trust Board of Directors?

I have been a longtime volunteer and current board member. I've spent the last 8 years of my life working and volunteering around housing and homelessness and being able to follow the acquisition of property has been an interesting experience. There are so great opportunities ahead and I'd like to be a part of that.

What is your vision or goals for SCLT, Somerville or affordable housing?

Obvious goal for the land trust is to have lots of properties. Having 2 properties as a young organization is amazing. I hope we can inspire other communities to create a land trust (Cambridge). Also rent control is a must and I hope the land trust can have more of a public presence in the fight.

What skills, knowledge, life experience or expertise will you bring as a Board member?

Being a volunteer of the land trust from the beginning I have learned a lot about how land trusts can work.

In addition to attending monthly Board meetings, how do you see yourself being active in SCLT?

I'm already active in the land trust and will continue to do so. I'm currently on the events subcommittee and I could potentially join another.

Why are you running for the Somerville Community Land Trust Board of Directors?

My work in the affordable housing space has evolved throughout my career, but my involvement over the life of the Somerville Community Land Trust has been constant. While working for the City of Somerville I had the privilege of staffing the initial SCLT Working Group in 2019, and the development of our Strategic Business Plan in 2021 which laid out initial financing and operations. Throughout that time I also regularly attended volunteer meetings, events, and advocated for funding and City staff support for the Land Trust. I’ve since moved on from working at the City, but I’m still a proud Somerville resident and Land Trust volunteer. Now, I would love the opportunity to be involved in a new and deeper way by serving on the Board.

What is your vision or goals for SCLT, Somerville or affordable housing?

My vision for the SCLT is continued growth, both in terms of acquiring housing units and developing its membership to deepen its positive presence in the Somerville community. The beauty of the community land trust model is that the organization becomes more than just a supplier of physical housing units, it is also serves a source of support and stewardship for residents and community members. Cultivating real estate growth alongside membership growth is vital to increasing the overall impact of the organization. Additionally, in the future I would love to see the SCLT be able to play a role in preserving small business and cultural spaces as well.

What skills, knowledge, life experience or expertise will you bring as a Board member?

I have been working in the affordable housing space for nearly 10 years and am familiar with many aspects of affordable housing policy and development in Somerville specifically. I have a strong understanding of municipal governance after working for the City for 7 years, and now working for the State I am continuing to broaden my expertise. Personally, I grew up in public housing in New York City and after turning 18 was consistently housing insecure up until moving to Somerville almost 10 years ago. I live in an owner-occupied two family where I am incredibly lucky to have had stable rent all these years. Luck should not be the main determining factor for obtaining stable housing, and I will work to increase the supply of affordable housing until that is no longer the case.

In addition to attending monthly Board meetings, how do you see yourself being active in SCLT?

I am on the real estate committee which I would like to continue, in addition to attending volunteer meetings and events whenever possible. I would also continue to advocate for and support the SCLT in any way I could.

Why are you running for the Somerville Community Land Trust Board of Directors?

SCLT has the potential to become one of the most impactful nonprofits in the City. It can retain, expand and create affordable, attractive residential and work spaces in a community that is fast losing those spaces. But in order to do that, SCLT needs a set of members (trustees, staff and volunteers) with wide and varied backgrounds. I offer years as longtime Somerville renter, homeowner and artist, also with past experience with environmental community programs.

What is your vision or goals for SCLT, Somerville or affordable housing?

I would like Somerville to live up to some of the goals of its 2040 Vision plan as a liveable, healthy, walkable and affordable city. There have certainly been efforts, but I don’t feel that East Somerville is really any of these things-yet.

What skills, knowledge, life experience or expertise will you bring as a Board member?

Experience as a founding member of Brickbottom Artist Building, work on initial stages of the Community Path (through Groundworks Somerville), water quality community projects as a watershed representative (Tennessee Valley Authority).

In addition to attending monthly Board meetings, how do you see yourself being active in SCLT?

Assistance at community meetings, liaison to Somerville artist buildings.

Why are you running for the Somerville Community Land Trust Board of Directors?

I've been involved with SCLT for 5 years now as a volunteer and have been a member and officer of both the founding board and the first elected board. I'm running because I believe SCLT has a unique role to play in our ongoing fight for an affordable Somerville, and I want to continue to be a part of helping it do that.

What is your vision or goals for SCLT, Somerville or affordable housing?

I see SCLT as a way to build community power at a critical time in Somerville, where big developers are gobbling up large areas of the city for "transformation" and smaller developers are flipping houses into luxury condos that aren't within the reach of the people who were previously living there. SCLT strikes against that trend directly - every property it acquires is a permanent stake in the ground, one more property that can't ever be speculatively priced into the stratosphere. I want to see us continuing to build that portfolio - carving out safe space from which people can't be displaced. And I want to see SCLT continuing to help Somervillians develop and accumulate the kind of ground-up political power that can't be ignored, to compel these developers to contribute more meaningfully to the community they seek to profit from.

What skills, knowledge, life experience or expertise will you bring as a Board member?

I've been living in Somerville since 2006, I've been a homeowner here since 2015, and I've been organizing with community groups here since 2016. In my professional life I'm in civic technology, working for federal government as a designer and strategist, making websites and digital tools serve the public more effectively. I've used these skills in the past to help SCLT set up and operate its technical tools, facilitate online workshops and collaboration sessions, etc. I'm a systems thinker who tries to diagram the power structures involved in social problems and find the intervention points with the best leverage to address them. Lastly, I'm a musician, part of the creative arts community here in Somerville who have also faced recent difficulty with the closing of practice spaces, recording studios, and live venues. I'm deeply rooted here in Somerville, I love this city, and I bring all these aspects of myself to my work with SCLT.

In addition to attending monthly Board meetings, how do you see yourself being active in SCLT?

I expect to continue to help guide the strategy of the organization via defining and participating in subcommittees, tabling for SCLT at events and fundraising for it as well, and representing SCLT at presentations and negotiations with the City and developer partners.

Why are you running for the Somerville Community Land Trust Board of Directors?

I have been living at 12 Pleasant Ave for over four years and I have been a resident of Somerville for nearly a decade. I am very committed to housing justice and I strongly support SCLT’s mission to build community power and stability in Somerville through affordable housing. With my professional background in housing advocacy, public administration, and law, I could bring valuable skills to the SCLT Board of Directors. I enjoyed the opportunity to speak about my experience with SCLT at the CAAS Movement Meeting in April and would welcome more opportunities to support the Land Trust. I also currently serve on the Board of Trustees for the Somerville Public Library and have been working on the library’s strategic planning committee.

What is your vision or goals for SCLT, Somerville or affordable housing?

I hope Somerville can implement a multi-pronged approach to combating the housing crisis, that includes the effective enforcement of tenant's rights, development of affordable housing, and application of rent control measures. I believe that the community land trust model can be an effective tool in creating permanently affordable housing and promoting community stability. I hope that SCLT can acquire more properties in order to develop additional affordable housing stock.

What skills, knowledge, life experience or expertise will you bring as a Board member?

I earned a Master of Public Administration degree from UMass Boston and currently run a small regulatory program for the State of MA. I also serve on the Somerville Public Library Board of Trustees and participate in the library's strategic planning committee. I have professional experience in housing advocacy and administrative law.

In addition to attending monthly Board meetings, how do you see yourself being active in SCLT?

I would be willing to do more outreach and advocacy work on behalf of SCLT. I am also very interested in strategic planning. I regularly attend the CAAS Movement Meeting' and would be happy to represent SCLT and develop community connections.