Mildred Lefebvre is a school committee member for the City of Holyoke, MA. Since 2014, she has focused on ensuring equitable education to all students within the District with an emphasis on Special Education. She currently serves as the Northeast Regional Director for the National Hispanic Council of the National School Board Association. She was appointed by the Board Members in November of 2018 and re-elected in 2019. The National Hispanic Council focuses on identifying and addressing the educational needs of the Latino/Hispanic Community, its students and families. Further, Mildred is the Chair of the Minority Caucus for the Massachusetts Association of School Committees where she continues to identify and address the current issues facing our underrepresented voices along with her colleagues.

Beyond her commitment to improving public education, Mildred is an engaged professional in Western Massachusetts. Mildred has served as a Licensed Practical Nurse for the past 23 years. As a LPN, she has held various health care roles which have included management, quality assurance and teaching. She currently works as a Visiting Nurse, caring for clients in the community. Her role as a Visiting Nurse has been educating clients on disease process and medication management to ensure that they continue to live lives productively in the comfort of their homes. She teaches and encourages clients to become self advocates of their health and maintenance. She is currently enrolled at Holyoke Community College and was accepted for this Fall 2020 into the LPN to RN Program. Her focus is on mental health as it is a growing concern for our children.

Mildred is the mother of five children ranging in ages from 14-27. She has learned resiliency, perseverance, and grit as she has worked to support her own children who suffer from mental health illness. She has seen firsthand the years of struggles and barriers placed before them. She has spent countless hours learning about and advocating for the issues that faced her children. Mildred has taken the commitment that she had for her own children’s success and worked hard to help other families that were struggling. When she is confronted with a problem or new issue as a school committee member, she works to ensure that students receive the supports they needed in the educational setting. Mildred understands the role of a “Mom” in an IEP meeting and has advocated to ensure that the role of the parent is as important and valuable as that of the professional.  Collectively, these experiences and her time on the Holyoke School Committee have helped inform Mildred’s personal motto of education:  “Our children are our future - Invest in the future and reap the rewards.”