My name is Holly Morand, and I am asking for your vote this May to join the School Committee. I have been a resident of Hopkinton for almost 20 years, and I care deeply about this community. I have two children in the Hopkinton Public Schools; my daughter is in first grade, and my son is in third. My son had a profound speech delay and could not talk (even with private speech therapy!) until he worked with Hopkinton’s outstanding special education staff, and now he talks pretty much constantly. I am grateful for every hurdle the HPS staff and teachers have helped us overcome and every celebration with them for milestones achieved.
As a social worker, I have provided in-school counseling to students in Milford and Franklin. As a community social worker in Hopkinton, working with Denise Hildreth at Hopkinton Youth and Families, I ran various programs for high school students, created educational materials, and had many conversations with multiple community stakeholders about the needs of Hopkinton. I was an applied chemist in both pharma and specialty chemicals in my previous career. I hold degrees in science, math, clinical social work and am almost done with my doctorate in behavioral health. I am currently working as a behavioral health research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. My research focus is equity in healthcare by implementing a person-centered, biopsychosocial approach to care.
As a woman who has spent her entire career working with and under peer-reviewed, evidence-based policies, I profoundly understand the scientific process. Science is constantly evolving, and when we know better, we do better. That applies to all sciences, whether I am looking for spike proteins on an HPLC assay or considering various counseling approaches for an 11-year-old kiddo. I am very well-versed in effective research strategies and feel my understanding and experience with evidence-based policy can be an asset to this school committee.
Additionally, I have worked with many groups in town on local equity issues. I spent time on the 18-22 program, was a member of Hopkinton Organizing for Prevention group, and previously served on the Permanent Building Committee in 2013. I have volunteered at my children’s schools every year since my son went to preschool at Elmwood in 2015; I served as president of the HPTA from 2018-to 2019. I was a public speaker for prospective adoptive families (both of my children were adopted) for RESOLVE New England. I served on the board for the Adoption Community of New England (ACONE) in 2016-2017. I was recently asked to become a board member for the Hopkinton Freedom Team for my work in diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the community.
I would be honored to have the opportunity to serve this wonderful community as a School Committee member. I believe my personal and professional experience could be invaluable to both the present and the future of Hopkinton Public Schools. I would really appreciate your vote on May 16. Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
Please reach out with any questions you may have.
Holly Morand