In a State House ceremony on June 21, state Rep. Liz Malia, D-11th Suffolk, honored Judith Lamb of Roxbury as a member of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women’s (MCSW) 2017 class of Unsung Heroines.
Left to right: State Rep. Malia, D-11th Suffolk, Judith Lamb and Sahar Lawrence (Urban Edge Community Engagement Officer) during a State House ceremony of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women’s 2017 class of Unsung Heroines.
Each year, the MCSW gathers nominations from across the state for women who make outstanding contributions to their organizations and communities. The honorees are nominated by state legislators as a means of recognizing women for their previously unnoted yet valuable community contributions.
As an Urban Edge resident leader, Lamb helped organize the community after a large explosion burned down her building in 2011. She appeared on the "The Ellen Degeneres Show" after she had to drop her grandson out of a window during the fire.
Lamb organized a formal neighborhood association in 2014 after a series of shootings and other violent activities took place in her neighborhood. She worked with the Boston Police Department to acquire five cameras from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and had them installed in her neighborhood. She has continued to work with the neighborhood association to build community through activities like applying for a Love Your Block grant through the city of Boston.
Additionally, Lamb led a group a community members to adopt a blighted park, which improved the quality of life for many in the immediate neighborhood. Judith was appointed to serve as a member of the PLAN JP/ROX Advisory Group to advise the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) on the city’s ongoing planning study for the area between Forest Hills, Egleston Square and Jackson Square relative to the scale of development and types of uses best suited for the area, and the local concerns, needs and desires of the existing communities. She attended the Community Leadership Institute through NeighborWorks America and is part of the Hands Around Egleston Committee. She is active in her local church and sings in the choir.
The Unsung Heroines are women who don’t always make the news, but truly make the difference. They are the women who use their time, talent and enthusiasm to enrich the lives of others and make a difference in their neighborhoods, cities and towns. They are mentors, volunteers and innovators who do what needs to be done without expectations of recognition or gratitude. These women are the glue that keeps a community together and every community has them.
The MCSW is an independent state agency that was legislatively created in 1998 to advance women of the Commonwealth to full equality in all areas of life and to promote their rights and opportunities. The MCSW provides a permanent, effective voice for the women of Massachusetts.