Emily Sherwood

Abstract

A self-described Military Brat, Emily was born in 1958 in Albuquerque and followed her father’s marine employment in Washington, D.C., Greenville, SC, and Oceanside, CA. The family ultimately settled in Schenectady, New York, where her father was employed at the General Electric Plant. Her father’s Marine Corps service and Emily's Episcopalian upbringing inculcated her and her older sisters with a strong sense of social responsibility and civic virtue. Emily’s political baptism came at age ten during the Vietnam War when her older sister took her to an anti-war demonstration. Her sexual awakening came after having a crush on a female math teacher and hearing Helen Reddy’s “I am Woman.” She would attend the women’s college Mount Holyoke College, where she met her first lesbian friend during Christian Fellowship. She joined the lesbian alliance and became part of “Women’s Music," which drew musicians from civil rights and feminist movements. After college, she and her future wife Ruth would move to Somerville, Jamaica Plains, Newton Highlands, and Marblehead before going to Lynn in 1999. They were delighted to discover five gay couples on their block, part of a larger burgeoning community. Emily dedicated her career to working for social change, from her early days as a community organizer to many years working on health and mental health policy for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Emily’s most recent role was deputy commissioner for child, youth and family services for the Department of Mental Health. Previous positions include the director of the Office of Behavioral Health at MassHealth and director of the Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI), where she led the implementation of a statewide system of home-based mental health services for children, youth, and families. Interview carried out by Andrew Darien.