Board + Bylaws

Tori Antonino

Renter

I am an advocate and activist in Somerville.  My passion is around ecological regeneration in our city and increasing the amount of green space. Restoring nature reconnects us to the environment in which we evolved which was not gray with asphalt and concrete, but full of life. We need nature for our own wellbeing, but more importantly the creatures that used to live here deserve their homes back. Getting us on track with our SOMERVISION2040 goals is something I want to focus on next term. These are 20% overall affordability, 105 new acres of civic space, and the number of jobs equal to the number of workers. We have an agreement and we must make good.  

Amanda Bristow

Renter

My name is Amanda Bristow and I have lived in Union Square for the past 13 years as a renter. I have been proud to call Somerville my home due to its creative vibrancy, openness, and culture of diverse residents. I have helped lead the formation of a tenants union on Oak St., and I regularly attend Somerville Renter’s Meetings sponsored by CAAS to support other Somerville residents, especially those who are most vulnerable to eviction. I have participated in community actions against housing displacement and artist displacement. I am also a community gardener and feel passionately that green growing spaces connect us to the land, to ourselves, and to our communities in mutual reciprocity. I would be honored to serve on the Board of the Union Square Neighborhood Council to advocate for spaces that are truly accessible, inclusive, and benefit members of our community who don’t often get their voices heard. 

Ann Camara

Homeowner

My name is Ann Camara. I have been living in Somerville for 46 years. I am of Portuguese and Italian Descent. My two sons and I are Somervillians. I have been a volunteer since I was 14 years old helping children, registering voters, and more.  I have been with Union Square Neighborhood Council since its inception in 2016. I am running again because I care about my neighborhood and all of Somerville. I hope to help our city put their priorities in order. I am consistent, hardworking, attentive, and inclusive. I have a good sense about development and what our people need. I can’t be bribed or persuaded on issues long needed: multigenerational community center, generational truly affordable housing, and real support for local businesses, jobs, greenspace, climate sustainability, shade, traffic studies and more. I am working as a volunteer to make this happen. I hope to serve the next two years. I fight for right.

Bill Cavellini

Renter

I was a member of the founding board, first co-chair, and a member of the negotiating team for the Union Square /US2 Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). I am currently a member of the Oversight/Monitoring Committee for that CBA. I have consistently fought for policies and programs that resisted displacement of existing businesses and residents, because they are the ones that created the value that developers are trying to capitalize on. I have advocated for workers’ rights, union labor, local hire, family-sized affordable housing, job training, and environmental sustainability. Building community as we organize for change is a priority for me. I said that I would put in the time and effort, and speak “truth to power”; that I didn’t have any other choice because my granddaughters were counting on me to help influence the future of Union Square. I have kept those promises.

Emily Doran

Open Seat

I moved to Union Square in the summer of 2020, after my second self-eviction in three years. The artist community is what brought me to Somerville six years ago. Even before moving to Union Square, I’d spent many a night filming in the Somerville Media Center, and playing with my bands in the local venues. As a musician, I have always been a low income renter. With the rising cost of rents, and changes that have come along with the GLX opening, it has solidified my commitment to protect myself and my fellow artists, my immigrant neighbors, and all those who make Somerville a unique and diverse place, from being further displaced. So I began volunteering with the Community Action Agency of Somerville, and recently joined the Renters Committee, where I plan to continue anti-displacement work, and hope to do so as well with the USNC.

Isabella Drago

Renter

I am a lifelong Union Square resident. In my second term as a USNC board member, I served as the chair of the Political Events Committee, organized and moderated forums and debates, redesigned the council’s website, fought for the development of a multi-generational community center, and conducted community outreach, such as flyer creation and circulation. A healthy democracy requires representation, participation, and rights—three things that the Mayor, City Council, and developers have the potential to nurture but instead threaten on a daily basis. Being on the USNC puts me in direct contact with those Somerville power players as well as grassroots organizations and fellow community members. If re-elected, I will converse and negotiate with these groups to bring back social democracy to Union Square, calling for leadership based on the primacy of politics, rather than economics. Let’s imagine solutions together, rather than viewing political change through the limits of practicality.

Sam Epstein

Brick & Mortar Owner

I want to help make more affordable housing and public spaces in Union Square, so that more artists and people with less money can live here. Before I opened The Jungle Community Music Club in 2019, someone told me that I would be surprised how close most customers live to the restaurants they eat at. That turned out to be true. I was surprised to see how many customers live in the immediate neighborhood. However, I was more surprised to learn how many musicians who performed at The Jungle live far outside Somerville. The displacement of musicians was caused by more than just housing prices. The city of Somerville actively pushed out musicians. For example in 2020 Somerville was the only city in MA that re-opened indoor hockey and gyms but banned outdoor basketball and music.

Kevin Foster

Brick & Mortar Worker

I’m running because we need to organize against the rising rents displacing our community generally, and Union Square specifically. This displacement is affecting the most vulnerable. I believe we can fight this displacement while simultaneously advocating for good paying jobs, more green space, and safety for everyone in the square. I have organized in many different spaces in my life, including being on the negotiating team representing my coworkers at Bloc Cafe in the recently passed DBF union contract, and I am hoping to bring that experience to the Council to craft a path forward to make Union Square accessible for everyone.

Michèle Hansen

Renter

As a Union Square resident for over 40 years, I witness and feel the direct impact of endless development that displaces life-long friends and dismantles community fabric. On the USNC, I participate in the creation and negotiation of Community Benefits Agreements, act as Community Center Committee co-chair, and am a member of the US2 CBA Monitoring Committee. The USNC grants me the opportunity to hold the Mayor, City Council and staff, and developers accountable for delivering social goods. The City and developers continue to fail us by not offering tangible benefits of development—increased affordable housing requirements, livable-wage jobs for Somerville residents, safeguards for local small businesses, and a large-scale intergenerational community center—which motivates me to continue volunteering for the USNC. If re-elected, I vow to continue this work and push for improvements that enhance the quality of life of Somerville residents, rather than increase the profits of developers.

Matthias Rudolf

Immigrant

I am a naturalized immigrant (from Switzerland), run a small business, and am a homeowner and resident since 2015. Union Square Neighborhood Council is a vital contributor to the community. Running a small subscription-based bakery that got its start thanks to the Somerville Arts Council Nibbles program for culinary entrepreneurs brought home the importance of community initiatives and common spaces. I am running for re-election to help ensure that Union Square remains a welcoming public space, host to artists and small businesses, and a vibrant, diverse center for residents old and new to come together and experience community, and to advocate for development solutions that uphold the above values. I am enthusiastic, willing to do the work, and an able listener who aims to tap into the abundant local expertise and neighborhood resources to advocate for the needs of our community and to steer Union Square stakeholders towards sustainable solutions that offer both economic and human opportunity. 

Marie-Elle Merchant

Open Seat

In 2018 I didn’t put much thought into where I would want to start my post-grad life, but I quickly realized how lucky I was to end up in Union Square. I felt at home, recognizing faces and meeting people, building the community I have today. My first apartment had a bleaker outcome. My roommates, both teachers, could not afford the rent for a second year.  If three people with three incomes couldn’t afford the rent, how could families?  With massive developers buying any land or building they could, who could afford to live here? The crisis is overwhelming, huge, and systemic. I got involved in advocacy and learned how to fight displacement. I’m running for the USNC Board because I know we can have an affordable, welcoming neighborhood. I know the work it takes. I plan to keep renters and low-income neighbors at the forefront of my work on the Board. Together we will build a Somerville for all..

Mary Napolitano

Open Seat

I live at 252 Medford St. I grew up 8 years on Linden Street and then on Loring Street Somerville. I attended St. Joseph’s School for 12 years. I volunteered as a parent volunteer at the Head Start program. I also volunteered at the Community Action Agency of Somerville at the Welfare Advocacy on a stipend for at least two years before going to college. I was involved with Christian involvement in my early teens. 

Bill Shelton

Homeowner

My reasons for running are captured by the Neighborhood Council’s vision, mission, and goals which I collaborated on writing, and which I’ve pursued in this neighborhood for 34 years as an activist, advocate, and nonprofit developer. While my hard skills are in community-based economic development, my overarching commitment is to sustain, extend, and strengthen the bonds of community among our diverse neighbors. Anyone who wishes to know my positions on housing, displacement, community, empowerment, urban design, open space, and systemic urban management may read them in the Somerville Times columns that I’ve written, or acquaint themselves with past advocacy campaigns.

Spencer Camara-Harrison

Open Seat

My name is Spencer Camara-Harrison. I am 29 years old and have lived my whole life in a great grandfather’s house. I attended Prospect Hill Academy, Boston College High, Somerville High and UMASS Lowell where I received a degree in Marketing/Management.  I am an Eagle Scout and a parishioner at St. Joseph’s Church. I have listened to the work of USNC over the years. I’m impressed and would like to contribute. I care about Somerville. I believe we can have both a Developmental and a Comprehensive plan that is well rounded if we do things right from the beginning and set things up right with city government, city community, and developers. Affordable housing for my generation and families, green space so children can play on grass like I played soccer and baseball, be climate responsible, jobs and a community center which will help with connections and resources.  Let’s make it happen.