Website: Castillo for Ward 1 Facebook: CastilloForWard1 Twitter: CastilloForWard1 For the past 10 years, Nicole Castillo has spent her life advocating for vulnerable and at risk populations. Early in her career, she worked as a domestic and sexual violence advocate, where she served diverse populations from the rural to urban, and those who are multiply oppressed. In 2013, she moved from Boston Medical Center to begin working at Newton-Wellesley Hospital where she saw first hand the diversity of Newton from the most privileged to those living at the margins. Her experiences as an advocate gave her a close look into the variety of issues facing Newton’s residents, from senior citizens challenged with aging, to young families just getting their start. Nicole has been active in statewide and national politics, particularly around issues of parity and the representation of women and Latinos in politics. She worked for LatinasRepresent a nonpartisan political organization founded by Ambassador Swanee Hunt, where she interviewed Latina politicians across the US. She is also a political contributor who has been featured several times in the Huffington Post and NPR. She holds numerous leadership positions on nonprofit boards including Jane Doe Inc., the statewide coalition of domestic and sexual violence; Exhale, Pro-Voice; and OUT MetroWest, an organization that supports LGBTQ youth and their families. She is also a young philanthropist for The Philanthropy Connection, a local women’s giving circle that grants $250,000 annually to local non-profits. She currently serves as the Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the Mass Alliance on Teen Pregnancy where she advocates for statewide and federal policies that both support young parents and prevent teen pregnancy. She holds a MDiv from Harvard Divinity School focused on advocacy, and a graduate certificate in gender, leadership, and public policy from the McCormack School at UMass Boston. Nicole Castillo lives in Nonantum with her partner Katherine. She is originally from Southern Colorado, and has lived in the greater Boston area and Cambridge for the past 8 years.
Endorsed in 2017