THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 Page 5 Risa Ferrara is September’s Public Servant of the Month Q: What do you do in the city? A: I work at the Garfi eld Elementary School as a school nurse. Q: What did you do throughout the pandemic? A: I have been working since March 2020 with a great group of people which is why I continue to do this work daily. At the beginning of the pandemic all the nurses asked what we could do to help. It was a new learning experience for all of us, but we were ready and willing to do what needed to be done. My day typically starts around 5:30/6 a.m. Each day I gather information on all the new daily cases so that a daily report can be sent work to be done but we have come a long way since the beginning. I plan on continuing to do this until the end. Q: What is your favorite part about working in the city? A: My favorite part of working in the city is the new relationships I have made over the years. It’s like one big family. Q: When did you start working in Revere? A: This is my sixth year working for the to the Emergency Response Team. I also meet weekly with the contract tracing team to discuss what happened over the last week and how we can improve as a city. There is still Revere Chamber announces appointment of Schepici-Portillo as Director T he Revere Chamber of Commerce through Board of Directors President Brian Davis and Board Vice President JuanCarlos Ferrufi no has announced the appointment of Amanda Schepici-Portillo as their new Director. She is eager and excited to revitalize the Chamber to best serve, support and unify Revere’s diverse business community and professionals. Amanda is a proud, life-long Revere resident, mother of two Revere Public School students – Layla and Angelo – former HR/ Talent Acquisition professional and two times a business owner. She is the founder and CEO of Compass Career Directions, which helps both job seekers and business owners build confi dence and implement effective strategies to move their professional lives forward. She is also the founder of Portillo Property Partners, helping homeowners to transform their properties through the power of paint (and beyond). As Director, Amanda will immediately begin focusing on meeting the needs of Revere’s business community, building an engaged and enthusiastic Board of Directors and creating exciting off erings and events for members. She brings a new vision to the Chamber and can’t wait to hit the ground running. “When I refl ect upon my great city, I see strength, resilience, grit, and diversity. These are the City of Revere. Q: What does public service mean to you? A: Public Service for me is making sure I always do my best and hope that what I do will make a diff erence. Q: What are you excited about for the future of Revere? A: Growing up in Revere, I have seen a lot of changes. I Gerry D’Ambrosio Attorney-at-Law Is Your Estate in Order? Do you have an update Will, Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney? If Not, Please Call for a Free Consultation. 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere (781) 284-5657 VOTE TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14TH FIORE AL HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH? BECAUSE AL FiORE HAS! Recently, I joined several of my friends and neighbors in opposing yet another massive residential building project here in Revere. This time, we attended a Conservation Commission meeting to voice our opposition to a 291-unit building being proposed in the Riverside area. Our community is being inundated by construction projects just like this one. With each passing special permit approval, we are seeing our streets further clogged with traffic and our quality of life diminished. Lifelong Revere residents are finding it harder and harder to stay here because of the skyrocketing rental rates due to these buildings. I have to ask, “What are we doing here and why are we allowing this?” AMANDA SCHEPICI-PORTILLO values I will ensure are celebrated and incorporated in the revamp of the Chamber,” stated Portillo. Amanda graduated from Revere High School in 2004, holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work (minor in Spanish) from Salem State University and a master’s in Organizational Leadership from Southern New Hampshire University. She is bilingual in both English (native) and Spanish. Amanda is happily married to Gabriel Portillo, who is originally from Armenia, Sonsonate, El Salvador. We have always been a close-knit community and our elected officials and their appointees are allowing out-of-town developers to dictate the terms of their entry into this city. We are getting little to no community benefits from these projects and are suffering more and more with each passing day. Even worse is the impact they are having on pushing people out of our city. I am running for the Ward 5 City Council seat because I have had enough. I know many of the residents of our great city have as well. We need to put an end to these special permits and developers who don’t care about our community. We must develop a comprehensive plan for our community that puts Revere residents first. I humbly ask for your support on Sept. 14th! WWW.FiOREFORREVERE.COM EARLY VOTING IS SEPTEMBER 4TH - 10TH FOR A RIDE TO THE POLLS CALL 781-244-7446 love all the changes that have been made and continue to be made especially all the restaurant choices. I enjoy going out to eat and look forward to more options in the future.
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