Mary Byrne
March is Women’s History Month, a celebration of women’s contributions to American history. This week, we profile five women in Belmont who have made a difference in their community.
Elizabeth Dionne
Elizabeth Dionne became the fourth woman — and first in 17 years — to serve on the town’s Select Board when she was sworn in last year.
“I had been concerned by various challenges … In particular, the challenge of the town’s financial base,” Dionne said. “We’re roughly 95%-5% residential-commercial tax base, and that’s just not sustainable. … The only way I saw to square that circle is what I’ve been doing the last year, to push hard to become a more business-friendly town and to accept we’re going to have to accept some more density.”
Since joining the board, Dionne has been proud of her work improving Belmont’s rapport with the business community. This past fall, she championed efforts to streamline the restaurant permitting process.
“In the short run, are businesses going to open? Probably not,” she said. “But it sent a really important message to small businesses in Belmont that we see you, we value you, and we’re going to do what we can to make your lives easier.”
When she was elected, Dionne was aware it had been quite some time since another woman held the role.
“There were absolutely qualified women, but because it was so time-consuming, they had other demands on their time,” she said. “I didn’t do this until my last child left for college. It’s just the reality that women do, often, bear a disproportionate portion of childcare duties. There are a lot of evening meetings. There are absolutely qualified women.”
She credited the current representation of women in government to Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, the town’s first permanent female town administrator. She cited the all-female finance team: Assistant Town Administrator/Finance Director Jennifer Hewitt, Town Treasurer Leslie Davidson, and Town Accountant Donna Tuccinardi.
“You can tell a lot about a leader by the people she hires and the people who are willing to work for her,” Dionne said.
She emphasized the importance of representation – not just for the sake of representation, but because “frankly, we need the talent.”
“It’s quite important,” she said. “It’s legitimacy. If you look at the decision a board or commission is making and there’s nobody there who you think might listen to you or value your opinions, you’re not going to take it seriously.”
She noted the growing Asian population and the importance of ensuring the voices in that community are heard.
“We want them represented, but also we need that talent,” Dionne said. “Periodically, I’ll check in with leaders of other communities to see what talent do you have in this area. A lot of times people just don’t know these opportunities are available. People are not just representatives or token members. They’re deeply needed and desired.”
Jill Geiser
When Dr. Jill Geiser began her career in education, there were fewer women in superintendency roles than there are now.
“There have always been [female] superintendents, but I feel like we’re seeing more of that now,” she said, recalling a recent Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents conference. “I remember a year or two ago, there were a lot of female leaders that had recently been appointed. It almost felt like a turning point for me. We need to see more of this.”
At the time, Geiser served as an assistant superintendent in Billerica. Before that, she’d worked domestically and abroad in classrooms and principal and assistant principal roles. Seeing other women like herself holding superintendent positions, she was encouraged to make the next step in her career.
“If you see one demographic in a certain kind of leadership role, you often question, ‘Does that mean someone like me can’t do it?,’ Geiser said. “That impacts people’s efforts and steps to take toward it. You see the first person taking the first step, and you say, ‘Well, if they can do it, let me try, too.’”
In 2023, Geiser became the first woman to hold the title permanently in Belmont, a fact she said is a big deal for her daughter.
“That’s the feeling – young women, they see more doors open that they might otherwise perceive to be closed,” she said.
Geiser touted Belmont’s strides in female leadership – from the town administration to school administration.
“It’s great to be able to work in an environment that embraces that diversity in leadership,” she said. “Clearly, there’s more work to do, but I think we’re making some good progress on that front.”
Improving diversity at all levels requires ensuring that biases don’t have the same impact on the hiring process as they did in the past.
“If someone is looking to apply to an organization or a district – [they ask] ‘is this a culture I want to be in?,’” she said. “That’s incumbent on us to create that culture that would be attractive to people with diverse backgrounds. There’s a lot within the organization that can be done around that.”
Geiser said she is still in awe that she gets to work in Belmont schools.
“It’s certainly not easy and has its challenges, but I am really focused on working through challenges, celebrating the successes, and just diving into the work with everybody here,” she said.
Anne Marie Mahoney
As the third female member of the Selectboard – one of four in its history – Anne Marie Mahoney followed in the footsteps of two other Annes before her: Anne Paulsen and Anne Taubes Warner.
“I never in my life felt as if I was a token woman or I had to do something because I was a female or I was the only female, so I had to behave a certain way,” Mahoney said.
Before joining the Select Board, Mahoney served 12 years on the School Committee. In addition to the Select Board and School Committee, she served for 15 years – 10 as chair – of the Capital Budget Committee.
“I think more and more women have gotten involved,” Mahoney said. “I think going back to when I was raising my children, a lot of my friends also worked full or part-time. They were juggling work and kids and trying to be involved in the [Parent Teachers Association]. I gradually did see more women, more moms, taking leadership roles, whether it was a PTA or other committee in town.”
As a member of the Select Board, she dealt with the McLean property, the Uplands project, and the controversial debate surrounding Town Hall renovations. While she enjoyed working with her peers, sometimes she had to “put [her] foot down.”
“I think, sometimes, older guys tend to expect people are going to listen to them,” she said. “So I did have to fight a little for my role.”
Still, Mahoney served as chair for part of her tenure. She served for 4 ½ years on the board.
Mahoney said you can see the changeover in department heads, with more women leading departments than in the past.
“I honestly don’t think it was a conscious thing; it was just the way it was,” she said. “My generation, we got out of college, and it was, ‘Women can do anything,’ but still, for the most part, my contemporaries – teachers, nurses, social workers – [held] traditional female roles.”
Now, she sees her three daughters in “traditionally male roles.” Her eldest works in the army’s cyber branch, another daughter works in politics, and her youngest is a software engineer. She said she doesn’t take all the credit; her husband also encouraged them.
“I hope for them to see me kind of out in the community, doing things and taking a leadership role in things in the town – hopefully, that empowered them a little bit to step up,” she said.
Anne Paulsen
1986, Belmont residents elected the first woman to serve on the Select Board.
“Some people made something of it, but in fact, what I felt was that I was a person who really represented more forward motion for the town than my colleagues,” said Anne Paulsen. “I had some ideas about how the town could move forward, and I was able to work with [colleagues] very carefully, and they, in the end, were willing to vote for some of the things I wanted.”
During her tenure, the Select Board formalized the executive secretary and town planner positions, started a Housing Trust, and established a Traffic Advisory Committee. Paulsen also participated in contract negotiations for secretaries and the light department.
“I was much more interested in doing this for the town than worrying about being a woman,” she said.
Paulsen said while she got along with both men she served with, she recalled them as men who “didn’t want to be led by a woman.”
“I thought I was equal,” she said. “I’m sure they didn’t, but they were both very fine people and had the best interest of the town at heart; we all did.”
Paulsen served nine years on the School Committee and was later elected state representative. Unlike at the local level, She followed in the footsteps of other women, including Mary Jane Gibson and the late Janet Starr. She served as a state representative for 14 years.
“I authored a bill which changed transportation in Massachusetts,” Paulsen said. “It said that when streets were redone, they had to include sidewalks and bike lanes. Gov. [Bill] Weld signed it. … The highway design manual was rewritten to say all users have to be recognized – pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists – whenever you’re making changes.”
Paulsen said since her election in 1986, she has seen female representation at the local level improve.
“I think we have a much more diverse community than we had when I was first elected,” she said. “I’m not sure the whole diversity of the community is represented, but Belmont’s been fortunate that it has people who have been willing to volunteer their time.”
Still, she hopes to see more young women continue to participate in local government or other leadership roles in town.
“I certainly hope more young women will participate,” Paulsen said. “I think one of the troubles is people’s work schedules today and the different relationships between parents and children stand in the way of having women, maybe in particular, and people in general, participate in town government. I think that’s an overall loss to the town.”
Becca Pizzi
Becca Pizzi’s father introduced her to running when she was 6. A year later, she ran her first race.
She’s been chasing – and breaking – records ever since.
After running through high school and college, Pizzi competed in over 80 marathons. In 2016, she became the first American woman to run the World Marathon Challenge – seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. In 2018, she ran it again and still holds the record for American women with a time of 27:26:15.
“I read about it online and thought, ‘I can do that,’” she recalled. “There was a world record at stake, and I really wanted it. I worked really hard for it. My daughter was, at the time, 8, and he was like, ‘Mom, you got this.’”
She remembers the day the Guinness World Record came in the mail.
“That was something I worked really hard for – blood, sweat, and tears – but it was all worth it,” Pizzi said. “I’ll have a piece of history for the rest of my life.”
Pizzi said she’s seeing more girls running at a younger age than when she first started out, in part thanks to a middle school cross-country program she started.
“I always tell them it’s my goal to leave you a better athlete than when I found you,” she said. “You’ll get out of the season what you put into it. If you’re here for friends, that’s OK, too.”
Pizzi, who had male coaches throughout her college career, said she prides herself on being someone relatable and approachable for the girls she coaches.
“I enjoy it, out of all the things I do, I have to say coaching high school and middle school is up there with my favorites,” she said. “The kids are so awesome. They love to break their own records.”
She said the competition is getting tougher, but it’s exciting to watch.
“Records are going down and being broken,” she said. “It’s really awesome to see this. It is exciting to see what these girls are doing.”
This August will mark the 10th year Pizzi hosts the Becca Pizzi 5K, a race that benefits the Becca Pizzi Foundation. Since the first year of the event, Pizzi has donated $70,000 in sports equipment and scholarships to Belmont High School.
Each year, roughly 500 runners show up to the starting line.
“That’s something that means a lot to me, because it’s my way to give back to the community,” she said. “Whether you’re there to race it or whether it’s your first 5K, it’s really an awesome opportunity to show up for your community.”
