I first met Martha in the early 2000s. I was working on Capitol Hill on Sudan policy and Martha was a leader in a grassroots organization to stop the genocide in Darfur. Even as a young 20-something year old, it was evident she had the unusual and perfect combo of grit, smarts, passion, and kindness. She listened, she learned, and she came up with tangible ideas that could create meaningful change. And then she pounded the pavement to get those ideas turned into action.
Fast forward to 2019, Martha and I found ourselves sitting across from each other at a Mason Rice PTO Board meeting and both raised our hands to see if any improvements could be made to the accessibility of the playground. Two years later, when I was approached to run for PTO President, I said I would only do it with Martha — because Martha is the same as she was 20 years ago. When Martha sees a problem or an injustice, she doesn’t complain about it — she rolls up her sleeves and works to solve it; and often behind the scenes with zero fanfare. I could talk your ear off about all the things I have seen Martha tackle firsthand: from addressing drainage problems creating unsafe walk-to-school conditions, to welcoming new families to Newton, to creating a coalition of parents to restore proposed cuts to the elementary schools, to connecting a local immigrant family with the services they desperately needed.
Martha is the real deal; she just wants to make people’s lives better. And she does all of this with grace, love, and incredible kindness.
I cannot think of anyone better to serve us in Ward 6, and I am honestly so grateful she wants to lend her amazing talents and her time in this way.
Lucy Heenan Ewins
Newton Centre
