Eileen Mathieu of Marblehead has been named a Commonwealth Heroine by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women (MCSW) in conjunction with 124 other honorees.
The MCSW and state legislators select women in their constituencies every year who have completed significant acts of service and made big differences in their communities.
“The Commonwealth Heroines are women who don’t make the news but make all the difference in their communities,” MCSW Chair Dr. Sarah Glenn-Smith said in a press release.
“Thousands of women in every community across the Commonwealth perform unheralded acts on a daily basis that make our homes, neighborhoods, cities, and towns better places to live,” she added. “Commonwealth Heroines use their time, talent, spirit, and enthusiasm to enrich the lives of others in their community. They are mentors, volunteers, and innovators — they are the glue that keeps a community together.”
Mathieu, who retired in 2016, wears a few hats. She has been a Green Marblehead Committee member representing Sustainable Marblehead since 2019. Within Sustainable Marblehead, she is co-chair of the Clean Energy and Public Policy working group.
“I just feel that anything that I have accomplished is only because I’ve been able to work with wonderful other people and as part of a team. It’s nothing I’ve ever done by myself,” Mathieu said.
In her recent projects for the Green Marblehead Committee, Mathieu helped produced a visioning document that the Select Board adopted as Marblehead’s roadmap to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
“I’d love to see everybody over time transition to both electric vehicles and also being able to bike,” Mathieu said.
Mathieu said she would love to see electric shuttle vans and bike rides that run through different points in Marblehead including the commuter center, downtown, West Shore Drive, and schools and parks in town.
“Just the concept of having the town walkable and bikeable and really reduce the need to drive a car downtown,” Mathieu said.
Mathieu said she also strives to get residents to replace their gas and oil appliances with electric appliances by 2040.
For Mathieu, it’s all about teamwork, listening, and asking questions. In Town Meetings, Mathieu feels strongly about town boards having clear procedures and opportunities for community members to ask questions.
“I understand they can’t necessarily have every item on their agenda interrupted in order to have public comment after but I think a lot of the TAB boards are still struggling with how to be sure that the public is heard,” Mathieu said.
On Friday, June 23, the MCSW will be recognizing the 125 honorees at the Massachusetts Statehouse in the Great Hall of Flags, with opening remarks by Glenn-Smith.