Virginia Smith

I am originally English, from a long line of dairy farmers, builders, and carpenters in the North of England. My Dad brought our family to the US for his career as a professor and research scientist.

From ages 6-17, I lived on the South Side of Chicago, which at that time had the highest level of poverty, gun violence, and the largest street gang in the US. This experience taught me how hard life is for people who are denied decent educations, jobs, housing, fair pay, health care, safety, and other necessities of life.

Like my Mum (above photo), I am a British-style democratic socialist (small “d,” small “s”). An English major, I went to Harvard Business School, and emerged with an even stronger belief that the wealthiest must be made to pay their fair (and progressive!) share of taxes, and that government must provide ample affordable housing and free health care for all like Britain’s National Health Service.

After HBS, I returned to book publishing, most recently as an Acquiring Editor for a major New York publisher. Now a freelance writer and an editor, my writing has run in the New York Times, the Boston Globe where I was a parenting columnist for the Sunday magazine, and other venues.

I am a gay parent of three children, whom I raised with Kathy Hitchcock, a teacher at BHS for 20 years. The above photo was taken when my youngest was in BEEP, my son in 4th grade, and my oldest in 6th grade, all at Pierce. I treasure my children’s BEEP/K-12 educations provided by Brookline.

I am an avid environmentalist and support any and everything we can do to save the planet.