Appointees Selected for Community Preservation Committee

• Planning to Begin on Implementing Community Preservation Act
• Should Somerville Adopt the Community Preservation Act?
• Somerville Voters to Decide on Community Preservation Act

Overall, the Community Preservation Committee would have nine members. Duclos-Orsello, Glen, Koslow and Murugan, if approved by the Board of Aldermen, would serve as "general public" members along with five other members culled from various city departments and boards, including:

• Michael Capuano of the Somerville Planning Board
• Michael Fager of the Somerville Conservation Commission
• Dick Bauer of the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission
• Arn Franzen, director of parks and open space in Somerville
• Paul Mackey of the Somerville Housing Authority

The four general public appointees were selected by a CPA planning team, which reviewed 35 applications, scrutinizing resumes, cover letters and references before interviewing 11 finalists, the announcement says.

It's likely the Board of Aldermen will refer the four appointees to its committee on confirmation and appointments, and the board could vote on the nominees at its Nov. 26 meeting.

Below are the biographies of the four general public Community Preservation Committee nominees, taken from the mayor's announcement. Committee members will eventually serve three-year terms, but their initial terms are staggered in order to build annual turnover into the committee's membership.

Uma Murugan (3-year term): Director of Projects and Fund Development for Urban Strategies, Inc., developing plans integrating human services with mixed-income housing, schools, community improvements and neighborhood services. Previously Chief Program Officer at Employment Connection, Inc. and Architect with Proencon Engineering Services in Chennai, India. Masters degree in social and economic development. Participant in the Somerville Academy for Innovative Leadership (SAIL), member of SAIL Education subcommittee.

Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello (2-year term): Director of American Studies program at Salem State University and scholar of American history and culture. Board member of the North Shore Community Development Coalition, Trustee at the House of the Seven Gables and Beverly Historical Society. Worked as Consulting Scholar for Old State House Museum and Nichols House Museum in Boston.  Previously affiliated faculty at Center for Economic Development and Sustainability, Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Lecturer at L’Université du Luxembourg, Lecturer and Thesis Director at Harvard University Program in History and Literature, adjunct faculty at Boston University American and New England Studies Program.
 
Ezra Glen (1-year term): Lecturer in MIT's Department of Urban Studies & Planning. Served in City’s community development office under Mayors Mike Capuano, Dorothy Kelly-Gay and Curtatone, and as Director of Community Development for the City of Lawrence. Has worked as a consultant in over 25 cities and towns on land use, open space, affordable housing, and infrastructure planning (including drafting Somerville's 2005 Open Space & Recreation Plan). Current board president of Somerville Community Corporation, former board member of Mystic River Watershed Association, Agassiz Cooperative Preschool, and Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association.

Courtney Koslow (1-year term): Development director at Beacon Communities, developing affordable housing. Previously worked for six years for the Somerville Community Corporation as Senior Project Manager and as Special Assistant for Policy at Massachusetts Housing Partnership. Served as member of Somerville Climate Action, City of Somerville Zoning Advisory Committee, City of Somerville Transportation Research Innovation and Policy Task Force, MassDOT Green Line Extension Design Working Group and City of Somerville Parking Solutions Task Force. Founder of Somerville Parking Advocacy and Reform Coalition.