I grew up in a working class community in Wisconsin. The values I learned there–hard work, integrity, straight talk, and working together to make a difference–guide my decisions in public and private life and are part of the reason I have settled in Arlington to raise my family. I have lived here for the past twenty years and I’ve come to care deeply about the town.

My husband Mark is a computer scientist and has worked at BBN Technologies for 24 years. He grew up in Waltham, and has degrees from MIT and Yale University. Mark Burstein and I are raising two daughters. Ellie is at the Ottoson Middle School and Jennie is at Arlington High School. My understanding of the difficult passage from childhood to adulthood that young people this age must navigate has led to my involvement with the Arlington Youth Safety and Health Coalition. The AYHSC works to identify and implement programs to reduce risky behavior amongst middle and high school age children in Arlington.

When we got married and moved to Arlington in 1988, I started a small software company which I ran for 12 years, most of that time in an office right here in the center of town. I sold the company in December of 2000, and worked for a while for the company that acquired mine. I am currently the Senior Information Systems Manager for YouthBuild USA, a non-profit organization that transforms the lives of high school dropouts thru a unique program of education, on the job training and community service. From these business experiences, I have learned the value of setting explicit short and long term goals and basing budget decisions on those goals. My work as a Selectman has been focused on applying this approach to the town’s operating budget each year and to Arlington’s long term financial planning process

My formal education is all in technical theatre, both as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin, and culminating in a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Yale Drama School, where I worked backstage on shows featuring many student actors you now see on TV and in the movies. After graduating, I worked as a stage manager, production manager and stage electrician for a few years, including stints as Assistant Stage Manager for both the Feld Ballet in New York and for the Boston Ballet, where one year I worked on 47 consecutive performances of the “Nutcracker”! I learned a lot about team work, responsibility and the joy of getting things done from my theatrical experience. I have an enduring appreciation for the satisfaction of doing a hard day’s physical work because of it. My work in theatre also led me to my very first volunteer experience here in Arlington – serving as the treasurer of the Arlington Arts Council for six years.

I am an active member of my Synagogue, Temple Shir Tikvah, in Winchester, where I am a former treasurer and current member of the finance committee. During my treasurership, I was successful in adjusting Shir Tikvah’s finances to absorb the cost of operating a new building, developed new systems to deal with our rapidly growing membership, and made a number of policy adjustments to get our expenses in line with our income. I accomplished all of this in part by growing our finance committee and encouraging the participation of business professionals and enthusiastic fundraisers who helped make our new development initiatives a success. This is the same approach I took in advocating for the formation of the Arlington Information Technology Advisory Committee.

I am also an active volunteer and volunteer coordinator with Habitat for Humanity. I regularly organize groups of volunteers from my Synagogue to go up to Lawrence and get cold, tired and dirty together working alongside a hardworking family who will soon be new homeowners. As a Selectman I have been a strong advocate for the Housing Corporation of Arlington’s efforts to increase the town’s affordable housing stock.

The past three years since I was elected to the Board of Selectman have been very rewarding. They’ve allowed me to bring my background and experience to address the issues Arlington faces and make a difference in my community. I look forward, with your help, to another three years.