All members went through a rigorous and collaborative selection process to be part of the team. Members meet monthly to engage in planning, implementing, and supporting the goal of making Milton Public School District a more equitable district for ALL.
Mac moved to Milton in 2004. His children, Sophie and Atticus, attended Tucker and Cunningham Elementary Schools, Pierce Middle School, and are currently students at Milton High School. Mac grew up in Chicago where he attended Chicago Public Schools before graduating from Rutgers University and Boston College Law School.
Since moving to the Boston area almost 30 years ago, Mac has worked at Greater Boston Legal Services, the Service Employees International Union, and, for the last 10 years, has been a principal at Democracy Partners, a political consultancy.
Email: Equity@miltonps.org
Monique DeBarros is the mother of three children (ages 6 months, 6 years old, and 8 years old) and has resided in Milton with her husband since 2016. She has fond memories of Milton from her parents and her younger siblings, who attended and graduated from Milton Public Schools. Monique’s two eldest children currently attend Glover Elementary.
Monique is a graduate of Boston University where she studied International Relations and Business Management. After eight years in the nonprofit sector, Monique completed her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership at Simmons University. At present, Monique serves as the Director of Support Services at Boston Prep.
Both Monique and her husband are public educators who are passionate about youth development and building strong communities.
Email: Equity@miltonps.org
Theo Dhami is a son, a big brother of two sisters, and an uprising freshman. He is a part of many coalitions including Milton Youth Advocates for Change, Civil Unrest Protocol, and the Steering Committee. Committees aside, he takes pride in my athletic abilities in boxing, soccer, and basketball. He trains hard to pursue his dreams of excelling at these sports. Regarding school, his favorite subject has to be math and it will continue to stay like that! Overall, he is grateful for all of his accomplishments in life and he could not have achieved it without the support of his family.
Email: Equity@miltonps.org
Gisele Dimanche is a rising 9th grader at Milton High School. She is an active member of the Milton Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (MSAPC) as well as the founding member of the Milton Youth Advocates for Change. In addition to this, she plays basketball and softball. Her main goal is to help make Milton a more aware and accepting community and she is very excited to embark on this journey with the Steering Committee!
Email: Equity@miltonps.org
Meg Matthews is the proud parent of two MPS students. Her daughters attend Tucker Elementary and Pierce Middle Schools. She and her husband Scott moved to Milton in 2010 to start their family, drawn here by the strong school system and diversity of the community. Meg is a past member of the Tucker Site Council and is a member of the Tucker PTO board. Meg works at Boston University where she is an instructor and advisor in the School of Social Work and an advisor in the College of General Studies. Meg has experience training and supervising social work interns and she was involved in the early stages of the MPS- Boston University School Social Work partnership, bringing the first MSW intern to the Tucker School in 2016.
Meg has a BA in Sociology from Wesleyan University and an MSW from Boston University School of Social Work. She has over 20 years of experience in the roles of advisor, clinician, supervisor, program manager, and educator. She has worked with youth and families in schools, youth development agencies and outpatient clinical settings.
Meg is excited to be a member of the Equity Audit Steering Committee as she is passionate about ensuring that all students in MPS have access to an excellent education in culturally responsive school environments. She understands the significant work that the district has to do to become a more equitable educational system. She is ready to roll up her sleeves and work in partnership with the many stakeholders in Milton- students, parents and caregivers, community members, and community organizations committed to diversity, equity and inclusion work.
Email: Equity@miltonps.org
Brenda Redding is a mother of two adult children, a son and a daughter, and she recently was blessed with a grandson as well. Brenda grew up in Albion, RI, graduating from Lincoln Public Schools, and she earned her B.A. in Chemistry from Wheaton College and her M.S. in Education from Lesley University. Brenda worked in private education for the first 15 years out of college, first at a Catholic high school and then at a Jewish day school, teaching high school chemistry and middle school math and science. She then obtained her MA teacher certification, working in Franklin, MA as a middle school science teacher for five years, as a high school science department head and chemistry teacher for 6 years, and as an assistant principal for three years. For the last three years, Brenda has worked as a chemistry teacher at Milton High school, where she served as a student government class advisor and a member of the Personalized Learning Team. Brenda’s goal in serving on the Equity Steering Committee is to discuss and evaluate the issues of equity at Milton in order to help provide a more equitable learning environment for every student.
Email: Equity@miltonps.org
Mary Shapiro, a Milton resident and Town Meeting member, has been an MPS educator for the past 17 years working both at Pierce as a Math teacher and at the elementary schools as a Math coach. She is also the proud mother of two MPS alumni who attended Cunningham Elementary, Pierce and Milton High School. She and her husband have been active members of the Milton community for the past 22 years, serving on numerous committees including the district Professional Development committee, the Strategic Planning committee, the Cultural Competency committee, as well as coaching youth soccer and basketball when their children were young. Mary’s interest in serving on the Equity Steering committee is to provide a teacher’s perspective and to advocate for the inclusion of student voice in the development of our district equity plan. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University, a Masters in Architecture from Harvard University, a Master of Education from UMass Boston, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Mathematics Education from Boston University.
Email: Equity@miltonps.org
Shelley Sturdivant is a Milton Public School parent of twins who are entering the 9th grade. Her son will be attending Milton High school in the fall and her daughter has attended an out of district special education school since 6th grade. Both of her children attended Glover Elementary and her son attended Pierce. Shelley and her spouse moved to Greater Boston from Florida in 2010. The Sturdivant’s are a LGBTQ family of two moms, and they moved to Milton in 2014 so their daughter could have better special education services. Shelley wanted to be a part of the Steering Committee to advocate for special education and LGBTQ students and families. She has been a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee’s at Glover and Pierce. Shelley has been a volunteer presenter for the DESE Safe Schools program since 2015. The program promotes diversity and inclusion within the LGBTQ community, with a special emphasis on transgender students. These presentations range from small school committees to entire school districts and consisted of sharing her story as a LGBTQ person and being a parent of a transgender child. In her professional life, Shelley is a Probation Officer in Probate and Family Court. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Florida State University and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Boston University. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, cycling and watching the Red Sox.
Email:Equity@miltonps.org
Joyce White is a teacher at Milton High School, where she teaches Culinary Arts, Food Science, and Fashion Design. She has taught at MHS since 2015. Ms. White is a thirty-year resident of Milton, where she has raised a family through the Milton Public School system. She is a graduate of Braintree Public Schools and has a Bachelor of Arts from UMass, a Master’s in Education from Westfield State College, and certificates in Digital Literacy and in College and Career Readiness. Ms. White came to MHS after working for a number of years in the Food services industry, both as a chef and an entrepreneur. She holds a Professional Chef ‘s certificate from the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.
Email: Equity@miltonps.org