About Robbie
History
My parents attended Northampton’s public schools in the 1930s and 40s and were the first in both their families to pursue undergraduate degrees.
I grew up on Adare Place in Ward 1 and walked to Jackson Street School with my neighbors, along train tracks that later became the bike path, and then a Walking School Bus. I walked two miles to Hawley Junior High, on the corner of Main & South, and was in the last eighth-grade class before it closed and merged with JFK Middle School. I walked, or ran, to the high school most mornings, trying to beat a tardy slip.
My husband and I lived in Ward 2 and raised our three children there, now in their 20s and 30s, all of whom went through Northampton public schools. Several months ago, we moved to Ward 3.
Through the generations, each of our lives have unfolded with the invaluable support of our imperfect but always striving public schools. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Related Experience
I volunteered at every level of my kids’ public school experience — preschool through graduation — with the PTO, on field trips, in the classroom, in the office, at Field Day, and at every community fundraiser.
In 2009, in an effort to offset student sports fees and replace aging sports equipment and uniforms, the nonprofit Northampton Athletic Booster Club was born, and I was proud to serve with that inaugural group.
In 2019, I was an appointed member of the city’s Charter Review Committee, working over ten months to review and update the charter, as required every nine years by state law. The Committee held 14 public meetings where the Charter was reviewed in its entirety. Our report was delivered to Mayor David Narkewicz and the City Council and included the following recommended changes: the lowering of the voting age to 16, and adoption of Ranked Choice Voting for use in all municipal elections; the provision that all residents, including non-citizens, may vote in municipal elections; and the change of the City Clerk’s position to an appointed office. Our recommended changes were unanimously approved by the City Council.
In 2021, following the 2020 census, I was appointed to the Redistricting Committee. Due to population growth in Northampton, I represented Ward 2 and worked with other ward representatives to help the city redraw its precincts and wards to ensure equal representation.
Education and Work
I earned a BA in journalism from UMass in 1989, then worked for 12 years as a copy editor at the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
At age 43, hungering for more human and less computer interaction, I returned to school and received a degree in nursing from Greenfield Community College in 2007. After a few years of nursing home and rehab positions, as well as professional and personal experiences with Hospice, I focused on helping the elderly stay independent at home, while doing the same for my own mother over the last five years of her life.
In 2023, I became a certified end-of-life doula through the University of Vermont, so I could put into practice the dignity I wish for each human as we face our shared mortality. I volunteer at Hospice of the Fisher Home in Amherst.
What I've Learned
Through my professional and volunteer experiences, I have learned the values of compassion and empathy and observed the complexity and challenges of life at all ages.
We all encounter times in our lives when we need support from unique sources — a government agency, faith-based organization, community groups, or from a friend or neighbor. I live these lessons every day.