City of Cambridge Participatory Budgeting

Participatory Budgeting is back! 

The City received 24 Steering Committee applications from interested community members and we accepted all 24.  The new group met for the first time on Thursday, June 25 and there was great diversity, energy, and enthusiasm in the room. 

Above: Some of the Steering Committee members pose with Budget Office and Participatory Budgeting Project staff for a group photo.

The following people will serve on the Steering Committee for the second PB cycle in Cambridge:

1. Katherine Anderson
2. Leonardi Aray
3. Karen Cuenca
4. Sy Danberg
5. Kelly Dolan
6. John Mark Enriquez
7. Cassandra Fradera
8. Maximilian Frank
9. Erin Gullage
10. Amy Jarvis
11. Jeremie Jean-Baptist
12. Yong Kim
13. Elizabeth Lerret
14. Victoria Lewis
15. Caroline Lowenthal
16. Mina Makarious
17. Nasim Memon
18. Cleola Payne
19. Ebi Poweigha
20. Laurie Richardson
21. Gabriel Schwartz
22. Tory Tolles
23. Romaine Waite
24. Elie Yarden

This list includes a junior at CRLS, a Harvard undergrad, and an MIT alum; representatives from the Cambridge Community Center, Cambridge Community Television, and the Museum of Science; an assistant pastor, two urban designers, and many community organizers; long-time residents and relative newcomers; and many multilingual, multi-talented individuals, some of whom originally hail from Egypt, India, Jamaica, and Venezuela.

The group kicked off the process by discussing the PB Rulebook and making decisions about who will be able to submit ideas, serve as Budget Delegates, and vote this time around.  We'll post the new PB Rulebook once the Steering Committee formally approves it, so please stay tuned!