WESTFORD — WestfordCAT reached out to the three candidates running for two open Board of Health seats in the May 3 Westford municipal elections. Candidates were asked the same outline of questions, and were free to share their replies during an interview with WestfordCAT.
Board of Health incumbent Stephanie Granger spoke with WestfordCAT, outlining her background, experience and aspirations if reelected to the committee.
Experience and Education
She received her Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She has worked as a vaccine specialist and held multiple roles within health insurance companies.
Past/Present Municipal Experience
She is a two-term incumbent on the Board of Health. She has also worked with Challenge Success for Westford Academy, as well as been involved with Parent Teach Organizations for both the Rita E. Miller School and the Norman E. Day School.
She explained in an interview with WestfordCAT, “challenge success was a program that looked at whether we were providing or using the best metrics to have our kids succeed.”
Volunteer participation, community involvement
She is involved with her church, having led the women’s organization and youth organizations in the past.
What should voters know about you?
“I love the town of Westford. It has been a fabulous place to raise my family. I believe in volunteering and the benefit that it has in a community,” she said. “The primary reason why I’ve been running for Board of Health is I feel I have a skill set that could serve this community well.”
Why do you believe voters should choose you?
“I think I have a very strong background in public health and I think it brings a good experience to the board,” she said. I have been surprised it takes a little while to understand how things work,” she said.
She continued, “having just been through the pandemic, I was very engaged in COVID response. I’m hoping as we move out of emergency response and look at what we can learn from that. I have a good background to help the town prepare for future challenges. I just want to serve my community.”
If elected, what impact do you hope to make?
“I really worked hard to listen and do as much as we could both through COVID and through the asphalt plant. Going forward I think it has really important that we focus on mental health, suicide prevention and addiction. It has been one of the key issues from the past two community surveys,” she said. “We know that it became more of a significant issue through COVID. I think we need to work hard with all of the partners in town to provide more services and link people with more services.”
She continued, “I think it is important to focus on the diversity, equity and inclusion piece, which is an important part of public health. You can’t do public health without paying attention to those pieces.”
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