(BOSTON) – On Wednesday, Hingham residents Katie Leavitt Sutton and Maryellen Maguire-Eisen received recognition from the Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators during the Caucus’s annual Commonwealth Heroine Awards celebration. Sutton was nominated to receive this recognition by State Representative Joan Meschino (D-Hull) for the work she does to foster community and champion anti-racism in Hingham and beyond, and Maguire-Eisen was nominated by State Senator Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth) for her extensive work to encourage sun safety and skin cancer prevention.
Commonwealth Heroines are women who have been chosen by their legislators for their extraordinary acts of service. The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women says that the women who are recognized “perform unheralded acts daily that make our homes, neighborhoods, cities and towns better places to live.”
As Chair of the Hingham Unity Council, a non-partisan group that seeks to bridge differences and build a culture of dignity and respect, Katie Sutton is a driving force behind the important diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging work pursued by the Council. She embodies the Council’s mission and leads by example, always striving to bring people together while recognizing our common humanity. Her effective advocacy is grounded in kindness and marked by her genuine concern for the well-being of her community.
In addition to her work on the Council, Sutton serves on the Anti-Racism Task Force at the Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist. A graduate of Cornell and New York University School of Law, Katie Sutton is an experienced website developer and graphic designer. She is also a wife and mother to three sons.
Maguire-Eisen is the Executive Director at Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation, which aims to educate children and those who care for them about sun protection and skin cancer prevention and to advocate for laws that protect children from developing skin cancer. She has taught a curriculum on skin cancer prevention and sun safety in hundreds of schools during the past fifteen years in addition to lecturing nationally and publishing extensively on these topics.
Maguire-Eisen holds a Master’s Degree in Science from Simmons College. She is married and has two children.
“These residents’ bodies of work have had an immeasurable impact on Hingham and beyond,” said State Representative Joan Meschino (D-Hull). “It is in no small part due to the leadership of Katie Leavitt Sutton that the Hingham Unity Council now serves as a model for organizations hoping to have difficult conversations and bring about beneficial change in their communities, and Maryellen Maguire-Eisen’s efforts to encourage our young people to be safer and smarter are making a profound positive impact on our young people and their families. I offer my sincerest congratulations to these extraordinary women!”
The Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators held its 19th annual Commonwealth Heroine Celebration this week, recognizing 121 women as Commonwealth Heroines.
