Save the Date
Celebrating Disability Awareness: Voices & Perspectives
Saturday, Nov. 2, 2:30pm, at the library
Hear from Watertown residents with disabilities
about their lives and experiences in Watertown,
and meet local disability organizations serving
our diverse community. Learn more.
Hosted by World in Watertown, Watertown Free Public Library, and Watertown Commission on Disability. CART services and ASL interpretation will be provided. Watertown Free Public Library does not discriminate on the basis of disability and is committed to providing accessible programs, meetings, and events. To request reasonable modification to participate in this program, please contact afry@watertown-ma.gov
Our Mission
World in Watertown is a civic organization founded in 1999 to protect and promote non-discriminatory practices in Watertown, Massachusetts. In the years following, we expanded our mission to:
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Create and support local educational programs and other initiatives to honor our city’s diversity,
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Bring together members of the community to celebrate our cultural differences,
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Advocate for fair and equal treatment for all, and
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Sponsor the annual Watertown Unity Breakfast on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Together with individuals, community organizations, faith communities, schools, businesses, and city agencies, we have worked to build bridges of cooperation to further strengthen Watertown as a welcoming place for all.
Let's make 2024 a great year!
Dear World in Watertown friend,
It's been a year since new leaders transitioned to the board of World in Watertown, with the invaluable support and wisdom of past leaders and members. In 2023, we were busy
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Promoting the establishment of the Watertown Human Rights Commission,
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Sponsoring the Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Unity Breakfast, and
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Partnering in the Mother’s Day Walk for Peace, Watertown Pride, Juneteenth, and the Multicultural Fest at Noche de Dominó.
Now, as we enter 2024, we're excited to reveal our new logo—a heron standing in water, symbolizing Watertown's connection to the Charles River and our commitment to a thriving, interconnected, and sustainable community for all.
2024 promises to be a vibrant and exciting year! We intend to be full and active partners with the new Human Rights Commission, supporting their work. We will also continue to lead or support hallmark Watertown events like Unity Breakfast, Mother's Day March for Peace, and Pride.
We are now mapping our priorities for 2024. We invite you to share your ideas for programs or projects that promote human rights and celebrate diversity using this form.
Please join us in our work by sharing your skills, energy, and time. Our next two meetings are on Thursday, February 22 and Thursday, March 28 at the Library's Lucia Mastrangelo Meeting Room from 6-8pm. No need to RSVP, but please respond to this note if you need accommodations and we'll do our best. We hope to see you there!
Finally, World in Watertown relies on financial support from people like you to fund our work. Please consider making a financial contribution via Venmo or Paypal (QR codes below) or check (send to World in Watertown, c/o Nicole Gardner, Treasurer, 18 Winsor Ave, Watertown, MA 02472).
You can also vote for World in Watertown as your favorite local non-profit in Watertown Savings Bank’s 25th Annual Customer Choice Awards by February 17. Everyone can vote!
Together with your support and involvement, we look forward to promoting human rights and social justice in our beloved city for many years to come.
Warm regards,
The World in Watertown Board
Our Board of Directors
Xin Peng, Chair (he/him)
I moved to the US from China for graduate school when I was 20 years old and I currently currently live in Watertown with my husband Dylan. I work as a full-time Software Engineering Manager at ZoomInfo in Waltham, and as a part-time Yoga instructor, teaching all-level yoga classes that are open to the community.
I am a first-generation immigrant interested in promoting equity and inclusion with a focus on Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) populations and establishing solidarity between AAPI populations and other underrepresented groups. I first became involved in community work in Watertown when I organized a rally at Watertown Square after the 2021 shootings of Asian Americans in Atlanta. I am a member of the Watertown Human Rights Commission.
Before moving to the US, I volunteered for the National Intercity Games of the People's Republic of China and as a teacher for a school in a poverty-stricken mountainous area. I co-established and currently run an AAPI committee at ZoomInfo, volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts, and volunteer at the Farm with Food for Free.
Ben Jerome (he/him)
I immigrated to the US along with my mom and siblings from Haiti to join my dad when I was 17 years old. I am a graduate of Boston Public Schools and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
I hold liberal left leaning political views and am a strong believer in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Along with my family, I have been a member of the Watertown First Parish for the past 6 years. During this time, I have been active in religious education, teaching Sunday classes, WFP Families of Color Affinity group, pledge drive as a personal caller as well as a circle supper facilitator.
I am also a member of the leadership team for the Annual Unity Breakfast in Watertown. I am involved in my children’s school's diversity organization and sing with my kids in the North Cambridge Family Opera.
I earn a living as an automation test engineer in the digital experience department at MassMutual and love working on various coding projects as well as woodworking in my free time.
Bevin Croft (she/her)
I live on the West End of Watertown with my partner and two kids who attend Cunniff Elementary.
I hold a masters and doctorate in social policy and direct the behavioral health team at the Human Services Research Institute where I conduct research and provide technical assistance for disability, mental health, and addiction treatment systems.
In my work, I am interested in person-centered practices that promote self-determination and seek to elevate the voices of people with disabilities and others who've been historically left out of system-level decision making. In previous roles, I oversaw the human rights program for a large psychiatric rehabilitation organization in the Boston area and served as a Human Rights Commissioner in the city of Cambridge.
In my personal and professional life, I am interested in creating opportunities for transformative growth and dismantling inequities in communities and systems..
David Gardner, Clerk (he/his)
I was born on a French airbase in the 1950's and grew up moving often between Air Force bases in the eastern US. This was generally a positive experience for us 7 kids, except maybe the years in Montgomery, Alabama in the 1960's.
After high school in Alexandria Virginia, I came to Cambridge for college and have been here since.
For my working career, I was an engineer (and sometime executive) in the semiconductor industry, mostly at LSI Logic. I retired young to be a stay-at-home dad with our 3 kids in high school.
My spouse and I came to Watertown from Sudbury 8 years ago after our kids left for college. My post retirement hobbies are hiking, duplicate bridge, racquet sports, fringe festivals, some kinds of programming, and finance.
Diane Ah-Kine (they/them)
I've been a resident of Watertown since 2007 when I moved here as a graduate student. I live in the East End with my wife and our 2 rescue dogs.
I first became involved in community work in high school in Mauritius, where I grew up, and have never really stopped! Most recently, since 2012 I've volunteered with All Dog Rescue to find local adoptable dogs loving homes and have fostered 50 dogs thus far. Since 2006 I've also traveled to El Salvador once a year to donate my time and professional services with Partners for Visual Health to provide eye care to the most needy in and around San Miguel. I've held adjunct faculty positions with The New England College of Optometry in the past, and currently with the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to help develop my future colleagues and push the profession of optometry forward.
In 2022 my business partner and I opened up Gaze Optical to provide eyecare and eyewear right here in Watertown, and I am looking forward to doing more hyperlocal community work with World in Watertown to advance its mission of making Watertown a welcoming place for all.
Nicole Gardner, Treasurer (she/her)
I live in the East End, with my husband and cats. Before retiring, my career was in management consulting, HR, and Diversity & Inclusion. My 'second act' was at Perkins School for the Blind, starting a program to help blind and visually impaired young adults get into the workforce.
I am committed to sustainability, equity, and belonging for all, and transparency in government. I'm involved in various activist groups in Watertown and I'm a proud founder of Buy Nothing Watertown, which has strengthened our community while lightening our impact on the earth.
I am honored to serve as the City Councilor for District A.
Shivani Shah (she/her)
I've been a resident of Watertown for the past 12 years and began working for the community in 2017 while I was a student at Watertown Middle School. My early involvement included conducting Kingian Trainings across the community and helping organize events like the anti-gun violence march and the MLK Vigil.
As I moved on to Watertown High School, I advocated for equitable practices, such as diversifying staff, petitioning for the creation of a Director of Equity and Inclusion position, and pushing for better curriculum representation in the English and History departments. I also co-led the Kingian Police Response Team, working to foster a fair and positive relationship between the community and the police department, particularly for people of color.
After graduating high school in 2022, I have continued to volunteer occasionally with local nonprofits like World in Watertown and have contributed to planning Unity Breakfasts. I remain committed to strengthening our community and am passionate about advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in every way I can.
