I live in West Orange with my husband Joe and our three children, Thomas, Beth and Paul.  I grew up a few blocks from Our Lady of Lourdes Church and attended Our Lady of Lourdes School.  After about a 20-year absence, I returned to West Orange in 2003 to live with my family in a lovely old Tudor in the Gregory section. 

Prior to becoming a stay-at-home mom, I had a 15-year career in the communications field, including jobs in journalism, publishing and corporate advertising, media relations and employee communications.  Now I spend most of my time volunteering for groups in and around West Orange.  I'm a Girl Scout leader, past co-president of the parent organization at Blessed Pope John XXIII Academy, and an active participant in ministries at both St. Joseph's and Our Lady of Lourdes Parishes.

I've lived in Boston and Westchester County, N.Y., but I came back to West Orange to raise my children because I love the incredible diversity in this town -- ethnicity, religion, age, national origin -- and the fact that the vast majority of our residents genuinely care about their fellow citizens and want to make West Orange great not just for themselves but for everyone who lives and works here.