Chief of Police Jennifer Paster is named one of the Brookline Women of the Year. Photo by Charlie Johnson
Brookline Police Chief Jennifer Paster, immigration advocate Jessica Chicco and civic leader Anne Meyers were honored Wednesday night as Brookline’s Women of the Year.
The annual event – which drew dozens of people to Hunneman Hall in the Brookline Public Library– began with a tribute to former Massachusetts first lady Kitty Dukakis, who lived in Brookline and died last Friday.
“She was one of the best of us among women in Brookline,” said Elizabeth Stillman, chair of the Brookline Commission for Women.
Each of Wednesday’s honorees received a citation from State Senator Cynthia Stone Creem, an orchid, and an crystal star with their name engraved.
Paster, who grew up in Brookline and started working at the Brookline Police Department in 2000, is the first woman to serve as its chief.
“It really was a humbling experience, and I am so appreciative of the recognition,” she said in an interview.
Paster said her parents inspired her to pursue a career in public service. Her father was a custodian in Brookline schools, and her mother was a full-time mom of eight children. Both parents died of lung cancer a couple years ago.
“My parents were big on showing appreciation and giving something back,” she said.
John VanScoyoc, vice chair of the Brookline select board, said he was happy to see Paster honored.
“There are people in Brookline who believe so intensely in Jen Paster,” he said. “There’s a special place in my heart for Jen.”
Chicco, the director of training at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, has served immigrant communities throughout her career. She has set up citizenship clinics and has trained volunteers on Know Your Rights sessions.
“I never quite feel like what I do is enough or could ever really be enough,” she said in her speech. “But what is being recognized tonight is not really me. It’s the importance of the work I do, and I’m lucky enough to do it everyday with my incredibly devoted colleagues at the MIRA coalition.”
In Brookline, she chairs the Immigrants Advancement Committee of the Commission for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Relations, which helped create the towns’ sanctuary policy.
Immigration assistance, she said, is her life’s work.
“I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it,” she said in an interview. “Despite all the rhetoric about the U.S. being a country of immigrants, it’s always been a challenge for folks, and this is not the first time that as a country we’ve been in dark places with regards to how we treat our immigrant communities.”
Meyers, 78, who chairs the Economic Development Advisory Board, has worked in public service for 30 years in roles such as deputy director of development for the Massachusetts Port Authority. She was traveling and unable to attend Wednesday’s event. Her son, David, accepted the award for her.
“I feel both honored and qualified to accept this award on my mom’s behalf,” David Meyers said in his remarks. “I worked with her wisdom, her guidance and her love for many years.”
He read from the letter his mother wrote for the event. “I didn’t reach this stage in my life without the help and support of a huge number of people, my village,” she wrote.
Anne Meyers reflected on the honor in a phone interview from Palm Springs, California.
“I learned from my parents, who were not in Brookline, but did all kinds of community work while I was growing up,” she said. “I think that passing this on and being an example for people in future generations is important now more than ever.”
Mindy Paulo, a 2024 honoree who is the director of Brookline’s English language education, made closing remarks about the significance of the women of the year event and commended the newest honorees.
“These women don’t just serve Brookline,” she said. “They elevate it.”
This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.