Gwen Nabad For Ward 1 City Council

My Bio

Gwen Nabad was born and raised in Massachusetts. In 2019, she relocated from Central Massachusetts to Northampton with her daughter, seeking affordability and stability for her family following a car accident. As her daughter graduated from Northampton High School, they both enrolled in community college together during the Covid.

At Holyoke Community College Gwen served on Student Senate, won a College Service Award (2022), was inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success and Phi Theta Kappa. She then wrote for and earned full scholarship to Hampshire College through the Massachusetts Pathways Program. She earned her B.A. in Liberal Arts with a focus on Native American and Indigenous Studies in Spring 2024 at the age of 55. Gwen served on an Hampshire College committee to revise the student government charter (2022), and later on the Student Advocacy Board (2023). Gwen earned two Hampshire College Ingenuity Awards (2023, 2024).

Simultaneously, Gwen started serving on the Northampton Housing Partnership for which she is the current Chair. The Northampton Housing Partnership works to support the production of low, moderate, and workforce/middle income and market rate housing by writing letters of support and networking with various housing/developer entities to support building more housing under the Department of Planning and Sustainability. Gwen takes a mixed income housing approach to her vision of housing in Northampton to remove barriers for upward mobility and a healthy economy for all. Her input on green planning due to working experience and later study of ecological and environmental issues are of great value for Ward 1.

Gwen is the right candidate for Ward 1 City Council. Gwen is well-versed in housing policies at the local and state level and how public and private resources can be deployed in Northampton for housing accessibility, affordability, and sustainability. Gwen understands that housing must be safe and secure for all Northampton residents at all ages and all stages of life, and she will be a tireless advocate for all Ward 1 residents and the community organizations that serve them.

Gwen builds on a track record of supporting residents and long-time community members affected by worsening environmental issues, rising housing costs and living expenses, especially in subsidized housing. As an organizer and housing advocate, she has successfully helped establish three tenant organizations in public housing to increase resident voice and leadership to improve balances of power in the management and oversight of their own communities. She will bring this same energy to representing all Ward 1 residents as they age in place or seek to grow their families in affordable, high quality housing that fits their needs.

Gwen also possesses extensive knowledge and lived experience in addressing environmental problems such as bioremediation, soil contamination, climate justice, food sovereignty, and educational equity as policy issues and in people’s daily lives. She is a huge advocate for access to green space and community gardens. As a parent of children who required special services, she understands how critical inclusive schools are and will advocate for sustainable, equitable schools as community institutions.

She is active at Grow Food Northampton where she recently taught a Clay Pot Irrigation class, and grows Shared Abundance Gardens. She serves on the Client Advisory Committee at the Northampton Survival Center. Gwen's genuine concerns for her neighbors and greater community, and her insight on a wide range of current issues that affect residents’ lives every day make her the right candidate for Ward 1.

My Key Issues