Commonwealth Commentary Breakfast Featuring Senator Cindy Friedman

The Commonwealth Commentary, sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, is a breakfast series designed to provide women of all ages with information and resources for effective civic engagement, and to provoke valuable discourse around the status of women in politics and public policy. Join us in welcoming this breakfast's speaker, Senator Cindy Friedman.  Senator Friedman was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 2017 and represents the Fourth Middlesex District, which includes Arlington, Billerica, Burlington, Woburn, and precincts 1-2 and 4-7 of Lexington. Prior to becoming a state Senator, she worked as a public school teacher, an executive in the high-tech industry and later served for nearly a decade as chief of staff to the late Senator Ken Donnelly.   Senator Friedman is a key member of the Senate President’s leadership team. She currently serves as Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, as well as the Senate Chair of the Women Legislators Caucus. She is a leading voice in the Senate on healthcare, mental health and addiction, women’s health, education, criminal justice and civil rights, labor and workforce development, housing, the environment and transportation   During her time in office, she has worked tirelessly to promote important policy initiatives for her district and the Commonwealth. Most notably, Senator Friedman played an instrumental role in crafting and passing legislation to:   Combat the opioid and mental health crisis and ensure greater access to appropriate treatment [http://cindyfriedman.org/omnibus-opioid-bill-h-4866-summary/]. Secure a $15 minimum wage and statewide paid family medical leave program [http://cindyfriedman.org/sen-friedman-casts-vote-for-grand-bargain-raising-minimum-wage-to-15-an-hour-and-establishing-a-statewide-paid-family-medical-leave-program/]. Reform our pretrial bail system to ensure that fewer individuals are incarcerated pretrial simply because they cannot afford their cash bail [http://cindyfriedman.org/bail-pretrial-reform-included-in-s-2371-summary/]. Direct additional funding toward workforce pipeline training for unemployed and underemployed workers in high-demand industries [http://cindyfriedman.org/house-and-senate-pass-sweeping-economic-development-bill-investing-in-workforce-training-programs-and-infrastructure-projects/]. Senator Friedman holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Roger Williams University and a master’s degree in special education from Lesley University. She currently lives in Arlington Center with her husband of 35 years.   For any questions or comments, please contact Aynur Olmez at aynur@mwpc.org.