Brookline 2023 Candidate Profile: Natalia Linos, School Committee

BROOKLINE, MA – Brookline’s spring town election is coming up on Tuesday, May 2 and Brookline Patch has reached out to candidates in contested races to answer questions about why they're running.

In 2023, only races for select board, school committee (1-year term) and housing authority are contested.
Natalia Linos is running for school committee for the first time this election. Here's why she’s running.

Natalia Linos, 41, Executive Director FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University

Relevant experience:

I am a social epidemiologist, Town Meeting Member, and chair of Brookline’s Advisory Council on Public Health. Previously, I worked as a high school teacher in Beirut, as a science advisor at the NYC Health Department, and for over ten years at the United Nations, tackling some of the most urgent issues of our time. I am also a parent of three children at Pierce (Amalia, 4th grade and Leo and Alexandra, KG). You can learn more about my background at www.votenatalialinos.com

Why are you running for a school committee seat this year?

As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, my priority is to bring my expertise as a public health professional to help our schools rebuild and recover in an equitable manner. This must include assessing and addressing academic, socio-emotional, and mental health needs of students; supporting teachers and staff, many of whom are facing burnout; and promoting a curriculum and policies that adequately recognize the climate emergency. Finally, as someone raised bilingual and educated outside the US, I also hope to find ways to celebrate our diverse, multicultural, and multilingual community.

What's one thing you'd like to achieve in 2023 if elected to the school committee?

My hope is to bring greater attention to mental health challenges and help serve as a bridge between the school community and the Health department. But I don’t see my role as simply achieving ‘one thing’. Instead, I hope to be a thoughtful partner in the day-to-day work of School Committee. I am honored to be endorsed by all eight current School Committee members because they know how my skills can complement those already on the committee. I enjoy operations and more quantitative tasks such as reviewing budgets and enrollment projection numbers, while also recognizing that a key role of the School Committee is to listen carefully and incorporate multiple (and at times opposing) perspectives into decision-making.

What's one thing lacking in Brookline schools that you would like to see change?

To celebrate and benefit from our town’s diversity, we need to focus on equity and inclusion in all school policies. At a minimum, this means ensuring our curriculum and programs reflect the diverse identities of our students and meet all their needs, and that our recruitment, support and retention strategies of educators and staff explicitly work to advance an inclusive workplace.

What's something the district does well, and how would you support that as a member of the committee?

Our town has made significant commitments with regards to climate action, embracing sustainable infrastructure - including green schools. As a member of School Committee and someone very active on environmental issues (I am a member of Brookline’s Mothers out Front and on the Board of the Environmental League of Massachusetts), I will work hard to ensure that our curriculum and school operations and buildings reflect the urgency and bold action needed to respond to the climate emergency.