Haiti Place Senator Linda Dorcena Forry

Who Is Information

  • WHO IS_POSTED_BY: Haiti Place
  • WHO IS_POSTED_ON: Oct 03, 2014
  • Views : 1043
  • Category : In the Diaspora » Public Sector Abroad
  • Description :

    State Representative Linda Dorcena Forry is a native Bostonian. For over 15 years, Representative Forry has dedicated her professional life to a career in public service, working in various capacities in state and local government.
  • Location : Massachusetts, United States

Overview

  • State Representative Linda Dorcena Forry is a native Bostonian. For over 15 years, Representative Forry has dedicated her professional life to a career in public service, working in various capacities in state and local government. Having grown up in Boston’s neighborhood of Dorchester, Representative Forry recognized the value of civic engagement from an early age. As a first generation Haitian American, she learned from her parents a strong work ethic and the importance of a quality education. Representative Forry holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Boston College Carroll School of Management and is currently a Masters Degree Candidate in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2005, Representative Forry represents the Commonwealth’s 12th Suffolk district, a diverse and thriving cross-section that includes parts of Boston and Milton. As a State Representative, she has championed improvements to the state’s education system, job creation and business development efforts. Representative Forry has also remained committed to community development efforts across the state, access to high quality healthcare, housing affordability, effective public safety policies, growth of emerging technologies and preservation of the state’s precious natural resources. In 2009, Representative Forry was appointed House Chair of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business. After launching a statewide tour, listening to the concerns of small business owners and sharing information on available state resources, Representative Forry was successful in passing major healthcare and economic development legislation designed to ease the burden on small business while promoting growth. She was re-appointed Chair in 2011. Previous to that appointment, Representative Forry served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Service, where she took a leadership role in drafting pension reform legislation. She also served on the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy and the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. In addition to her capacity as Chair, Rep. Forry plays a leadership role on immigration issues at the State House. As the only Haitian American elected official, Rep. Forry has spearheaded many efforts to rally her colleagues, advocates and immigrant groups across the state around issues important to ethnic communities including a recent mobilization effort to urge the federal government to establish a parole program allowing Haitians already approved for visas to wait for them in the U.S. with their families. Representative Forry also serves on a number of boards including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester, the Milton Library Foundation, Friends for Children, College Bound Dorchester, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Board of Overseers, the Boston Foundation Haiti Relief and Reconstruction Fund Advisory Council, the National Haitian American Elected Officials Network (NAEHON) and the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee. Representative Forry is also a fellow of the Truman National Security Project and a member of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL). Representative Forry and her husband Bill are the proud parents of four children and live in the Lower Mills neighborhood of Dorchester.