Community Board

The Fund for Wellesley’s Community Board is comprised of Wellesley residents who represent the diverse aspects of the community. This allows the Fund to maintain a town-wide perspective of its needs and opportunities. The Community Board is also responsible for reviewing and assessing grant proposals from local nonprofits to determine which would receive support for its programs

Amy Axelrod

A resident of Wellesley for seventeen years, Amy is an attorney who has been involved in numerous civic activities. She is currently a Town Meeting member and previously served on the Advisory Committee. She has also held a number of alumnae leadership positions at Wellesley College including serving on the Alumnae Achievement Award Committee, which she chaired in her third year. Amy practiced litigation before Massachusetts and federal trial and appellate courts.

Terrence Cunningham

Terry has been Wellesley’s Chief of Police for thirteen years and a member of the Wellesley Police Department for thirty years. He is a past president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and the current president of the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council. Metro-LEC is a consortium of 43 law enforcement agencies operating in partnership within the metropolitan Boston area to promote public safety by sharing resources and personnel. He has extensive experience with issues affecting the Wellesley community, including needs of the elderly, youth concerns, domestic violence and sexual abuse. He is a life-long resident of Wellesley and attended the Wellesley Public Schools.

Robert Evans, Ed.D.

A clinical and organizational psychologist, Rob is the Executive Director of the Human Relations Service (HRS) in Wellesley, the non-profit community mental health agency serving Wellesley, Weston, and Wayland. A former teacher and a former child/family therapist, Rob has worked with schools and families through HRS for over thirty-five years. He is the author of three books and many articles. His recent interests have focused on the leading of organizational change and on changes in the American family and their impact on schools.

Virginia Ferko

A resident of Wellesley for more than twenty years, Virginia is an attorney who has been engaged in many community volunteer activities. She is past president of the Bates Elementary, Wellesley Middle School and Wellesley High School Parent Teacher Organizations (PTO) and has been an active member in the Wellesley League of Women Voters, serving as membership manager for five years. Virginia has been a Town Meeting Member for fourteen years and is past chair of the Town’s Advisory Committee.

Trina Foster

Trina has been a resident of Wellesley for twelve years and has served as a Town Meeting Member since 2006. Her professional career combined work as a Speech and Language Pathologist and sportscaster for Comcast SportsNet. She served as the Moderator of the Central Council of PTOs, Fiske School PTO President and board member for the Wellesley Education Foundation. She currently serves as a board member for the Wellesley Youth Commission.

Susan Hurwitz

Susan has been a resident of Wellesley since 1978. Now retired, she was a VP of Human Resources at The Gillette Company. She has been a member of Executive Service Corps, a non-profit organization that provides high-level, volunteer consulting services to non-profits, schools, and government agencies. A current Town Meeting Member, Susan served on the Town’s Advisory Committee, chairing the committee in her third year. She is currently chair of the Town’s Human Resources Board.

Laurel Lyle

A human resources executive for nineteen years, Laurel has been a development professional for the last nine, and is now the Director of Fundraising Programs for Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. She is active in several local non-profit organizations including the Walker School, REACH and the Wellesley Free Library. She is a past President of Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club and Chair of the Eliot Montessori Board of Trustees, and led the steering committee to merge Eliot Montessori and Natick Montessori. Laurel has been a Wellesley resident since 2000.

Maura Murphy

Maura, a Wellesley resident since 1996, is a partner in the Business Department of Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster, where she provides corporate, tax and employment advice to businesses and nonprofit organizations. She is a Town Meeting Member and former member of the Town Advisory Committee. Maura is a member, and will chair the Board of Directors of Caritas Communities, Inc., a nonsectarian, nonprofit developer of lodging houses for the working poor. As a volunteer for the Lawyer’s Clearinghouse (a nonprofit provider of pro bono legal services), Maura provides free workshops on corporate governance for nonprofit board members.

Maura O’Brien

A Wellesley resident since 1980, Maura has served the community in numerous roles. She is currently employed as president and CEO of the Wellesley Chamber of Commerce, and is a Town Meeting Member. She is a past member of the Board of Selectmen and the Advisory Committee, which she also chaired, and has served on non-profit boards including the Wellesley League of Women Voters, the Wellesley Community Center, and the Hunnewell School PTO. She formerly practiced as an attorney representing clients in municipal and employment matters.

Ernest Parizeau

Ernie is an adjunct professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson College and the Franklin Olin College of Engineering. He previously worked at Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) for twenty-two years, and led NVP’s early stage venture capital investing in Boston. Ernie is a trustee of the Newton Wellesley Hospital, the Noble and Greenough School, the Charles River School, and the Cape Eleuthera Foundation – The Island School. Ernie and his wife, Kim, have lived in Wellesley for twenty-two years, and have four children.

Theodore Parker

Tony is a lifelong resident of Wellesley, a graduate of the Wellesley Public Schools and Washington College. With more than forty years experience in real estate, he is the principal in his consulting business. He is currently a director and Clerk of the Corporation for Wellesley Bank and is Chairman of North Hill Communities, Inc. He has served on the Board of Selectman and as a member of the Wellesley Housing Authority. He is a past president of the Human Relations Service, The Wellesley Club, and the Wellesley Community Center, and former moderator of the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church. Tony is currently a Town Meeting Member and Chair of the Wellesley Community Preservation Committee.

Linda Perlmutter

Linda has been a resident of Wellesley for over thirty years. Her professional career was in the healthcare sector, most recently as CEO of Health Pathways of New England. She currently serves as a board member of the Centennial Fund which supports the Wellesley Free Library, and she has been a Town Meeting Member for over sixteen years. She is a past member of the Advisory Committee and the Board of Health. She is also a past trustee of the Crossroads Community Foundation, and is serving as the Foundation’s representative to the Community Board.

Harriet Warshaw

Harriet has lived in Wellesley since 1982. She has combined her educational background in community organizing and planning, as well as over 30 years of professional senior management experience in the healthcare field, to serve the Town in many key capacities. Harriet served on the Town’s Board of Health for ten years, followed by nine years as a Selectman, twice as chair of that Board. She has been a Town meeting member since the year 2000. In her recent four years as president of Temple Beth Elohim, Harriet oversaw the construction of their new temple and a major capital campaign. She continues to play an active role in advising the Town on a number of human services related matters.