MY STORY
GROWING UP & FAMILY BACKGROUND
Tom is the son of educators who instilled in him the values of curiosity, hard work, and service to others. But his family's story is also one of immigration, working-class roots, and the transformative power of education.
His paternal grandfather immigrated from England and worked as a janitor at Seattle Power & Light while sacrificing everything to ensure his children could get an education. His maternal grandfather was a truck driver who never finished high school but believed deeply in creating opportunity for the next generation. His maternal grandmother was a teacher who spent 35-40 years teaching kindergarten because she loved working with children.
Thanks to the sacrifice of his grandparents, Tom’s father went on to became a computer science professor who co-authored foundational textbooks that shaped a generation of technologists. Growing up in this environment taught Tom to think in systems, to see connections between disciplines, and to appreciate how foundational work creates opportunity for others.
But his parents also taught him that knowledge means nothing without purpose, and that the privilege of education comes with the responsibility to serve. When Tom was growing up, his family sponsored a Cambodian refugee family with the support of their church. Tom helped his mother with resettlement work, connecting families to services, navigating bureaucracy, and building friendships that continue today. The experience was personally rewarding and his family became a model for other families who sponsored refugees the following year. Tom's family's involvement with refugee resettlement continues to this day, more than 40 years later.
Those families became friends, Tom has visited their homes and they've visited his, their children vacationed with his family in the Adirondacks, and he attended a wedding of one of their children in Lowell with his mother. When Tom visits home, he often swings by the farmers market to see them and enjoy their wonderful cooking. These enduring relationships taught him that policy decisions affect real people, and that immigrants aren't abstractions, they're our neighbors, friends, and essential members of our communities.
​
CAREER & FAMILY
Tom first came to the Second Middlesex District in 1992, moving to Somerville. He and his wife, Victoria later settled in Winchester to raise their two children, Will and Teddy. Like many families in this district, they've navigated IEPs and 504 plans to support their children's diverse learning needs, dealt with complex healthcare challenges, and balanced careers with community service. These experiences made him a better parent and a more effective advocate on the School Committee.
Tom spent fourteen years as President & CEO of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC), where he built his reputation as a coalition builder who could bring together competing interests around shared goals. He worked across business, government, nonprofits, and education to advance workforce development, immigration policy, and inclusive innovation.
In 2023, Tom founded the Net Zero Institute to accelerate corporate decarbonization by building community among corporate sustainability leaders. The organization has grown to over 500 participants who work inside companies or supporting them in making the business case for climate action from within.
WHY PUBLIC SERVICE
​
Tom's commitment to public service began early. As a Boy Scout, his troop partnered with the local fire and rescue department, service projects meant testing hoses and washing trucks alongside firefighters. At 16, Tom joined the volunteer fire department, completing the New York Fire Academy's Essentials of Fire Fighting course, and earning multiple American Red Cross certifications in first aid and CPR. While in high school, he drove the Cornell EMS van responding to campus emergencies. That early experience of showing up when people needed help shaped his understanding of public service.
In college and law school, Tom continued seeking ways to contribute, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, serving as a student senator and college tour guide, and taking on leadership roles in the American Bar Association's Law Student Division, eventually becoming Governor for the First Circuit representing 14 New England law schools. That leadership experience led him toward association management and his eventual role at MassTLC.
Tom's path to public service began with his family's values of service to others and was reinforced through early hands-on experience as a volunteer firefighter and EMS driver. It deepened through his Board of Higher Education experience, where he saw how policy choices can open doors or close them. Serving on the Winchester School Committee since 2021, including as Chair in 2023-2024, he's worked on everything from climate policy to special education advocacy to transparent budget processes
A registered Democrat, he serves his community as a Town Meeting member, Energy Management Committee member, Climate Advisory Committee liaison, and through board service with organizations including MassRobotics, McLean Hospital Board of Visitors, and Franklin Cummings Tech Industry Advisory Board.