Lori was elected to Rockland's Select Board in April of 2022 which then consisted of four females and one male. With this much girl power, she was excited to be part of the team to get things done in her community. Her goals are to make Rockland a more affordable place to live and work, and to retire with dignity.

 

Lori was raised in Greenbelt, Maryland (near Washington DC). Her path to service developed throughout high school and college, where she perpetually spoke out for equality as a canvasser for Caesar Chavez in his fight for fair wages, dignity and humane living conditions as he led the first farm workers union in the country. She also volunteered with several organizations during the AIDS epidemic of the mid-80s, delivering meals and spending time with HIV and AIDS patients. Lori is an emphatic and unapologetic supporter of women's autonomy over their own bodies, especially fighting to keep lawbooks and bibles out of womens' uteruses. 

 

She graduated the University of Maryland in 1990, with a BA in American Studies, and minoring in Radio, Television and Film. With a sour economy upon graduation, she worked at an advertising agency in DC to pay the bills. On her way to work one day, she stepped out of a Metro car when suddenly a man in a hurry forcibly bumped into her, and she nearly fell into the tracks. She then had an epiphany that people needed to chill out, so she went to massage school, became a small business owner and opened up a bodywork practice in a bohemian enclave outside of DC called Takoma Park, MD. It grew into a holistic healing center which she ran for eleven years.

 

When she became a mother, their neighborhood became crime ridden, so she and her husband Rudy moved to Rockland, Massachusetts in 2005, where they became involved in their community. Since Rudy's family owned the iconic Anita Marie's breakfast shop in uptown Rockland, they were quickly embraced into the fold.  After a devastating house fire in 2007, the Childs family was overwhelmed with the generosity of their neighbors who selflessly donated clothes and toys for their four children, started a meal train that lasted months, and provided furniture for the rental property they stayed in while their home was rebuilt.

 

In addition to becoming a Girl Scout leader, Lori headed a fundraiser to place the first three solar-powered, flashing crosswalks in Rockland after her friend and neighbor was hit and killed at the top of their dimly-lit street. She then joined the town's Finance Committee to learn the ropes of municipal spending, with the intention to keep taxes from rising at an unreasonable rate. On the Select Board she continues fighting for the best interests of Rockland residents.

 

Photo by Stephanie C. Olsen Photography

Rockland, MA