Meet Eileen

I was born in Queens and grew up in Rockland County, the proud daughter of a New York City police officer and a school teacher. I loved libraries, parks, and riding my bike all over my neighborhood. I graduated from Amherst College, where I majored in Russian Studies. After college, I taught kindergarten for two years in Houston, Texas.

I returned to the Northeast to attend Brown University School of Medicine. Then I did my pediatric residency at the University of California at San Francisco, where I served as Chief Resident. I’m particularly proud of receiving the 2004 Rudolph Award from UCSF for the resident "who has been most supportive of, and empathetic towards, nurses, faculty and fellow residents."

While working as a pediatrician in California, I became interested in international health. I then spent two years working overseas and was a member of Baylor University’s first Pediatric AIDS Corps in eSwatini. We collaborated with key stakeholders to open clinics that provided children with life-saving antiretroviral treatment and developed programs to prevent the transmission of HIV from pregnant mothers to their infants. Through this work, I recognized the power of using data to inform decisions and evaluate programs, and how building resilient systems is critical to sustainability.

My interest in evidence-based programming brought me back to the States to earn a Master's in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. There, I became board-certified in Public Health and Preventive Medicine, shifting my focus from clinical to research work.

Currently, I work as a research physician in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on Global Public Health therapeutics. I study medications to treat and prevent tuberculosis, leprosy, and HIV and lead teams dedicated to monitoring and analyzing the safety of experimental and marketed therapies. 

While I have lived in many different places, I have been proud to call Montclair my home for the past nine years. I live near Watchung Plaza with my husband and daughter, a Glenfield Middle School student. My sisters also chose to raise their families here, in the second ward of Montclair, making it our family’s home. I deeply respect the history of Montclair and am so grateful to all those who have worked to create this special place. 

My local community involvement started at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, where I served on the Social Justice Team and the Undoing Racism Committee. I was also a founding board member of Out Montclair, serving as the first Board Secretary. In 2017, I joined Impact100, a giving circle founded and funded by Essex County women, which has given almost a million dollars to local nonprofits. 

In the past few years, I have turned my attention to local government, standing up for things that I believe are important to Montclair. Among other issues, I have advocated for a sustainable budget, fairer shared service agreements with neighboring towns, policies that support our LGBTQ+ community, library funding, transparent meetings with virtual access, and non-discriminatory promotional practices. I have been awed by the passion and enthusiasm of many of my fellow residents who have championed so many important issues, and I look forward to working with many of them in the future. 

I love Montclair and genuinely care about our future together. I will also bring many useful skills to the Town Council, as I have extensive experience operating in complex situations in a highly collaborative way. I am adept at building consensus and guiding teams in data-driven decision-making. As a policy-maker, I will practice systems thinking to solve challenging problems, focusing on strategic planning, data, and transparency. Please support me with your vote.