elected

Rebecca is an active member of the Holyoke Youth Task Force, the Holyoke YMCA, Holyoke Unites/Holyoke Se Une, and currently sits on the Board of Directors for Nueva Esperanza, Holyoke’s flagship Latino organization. Rebecca is also a founding member of the citizens’ network C.R.U.S.H (Citizens for the Revitalization and Urban Success of Holyoke) whose mission is to create positive change in Holyoke by facilitating connections between people, resources, and ideas. Rebecca is driven by her passion for participatory politics and in 2008 began a graduate program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where she is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science. Rebecca is happy serving the Holyoke community as a City Councilor at-Large and is an alumna from the Emerge Class of 2008.

Jackie is the Vice-Chair of the Lowell's School Committee and proud alumna from the Emerge Massachusetts, Class of 2008. Although she already held an elected position when she started Emerge, Jackie said she joined because "I was so frustrated by the negative energy in the political system here in the city, I wasn't feeling a lot of support in my efforts and it was starting to make me feel somewhat isolated and worn down."  As she had hoped, Emerge provided Jackie with access to local politicians who similarly prioritized education in their various positions. As a member of the School Committee, Jackie's primary goal continues to be improving the quality of education, for students at all achievement levels, narrowing existing gaps and staying conscious of budgetary concerns.

Bonnie ran for the School Committee after being a community leader and working on political campaigns for years.  She used her Emerge training to make the leap from the side lines to being the candidate, and together with the skills she learned from Emerge and a strong campaign team behind her was able to secure an unopposed run for a seat on the Lexington School Committee in March 2011.

Sharon made the decision to run, after years as an activist, after her first Emerge weekend. Her Emerge training gave her the confidence she needed to take on the establishment School Committee in her town and the network of support she formed kept her going through a tough campaign. In November 2009, she won a seat on the Medford School Committee beating three incumbents.

Sue joined the Emerge class when she narrowly lost her race for State Representative. Emerge gave her to tools to start her next campaign stronger than ever and run it smarter. In November 2009, she topped the ticket for Leominster City Council, beating out every incumbent.