Hefter for School Committee

About Jesse Hefter

Who am I?
I'm a Brookline resident since 1984 and the proud grandparent of two Roland Hayes School 4th graders. My wife Brenda is a Runkle and BHS Class of 71 graduate, who has worked for many years in special education. Together we have three children and 12 grandchildren. I retired from the Verizon Corporation in 2019 after a 35-year career and have a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Case Western Reserve University. In my "spare" time, I play tennis, sail, bike, ski, write, and volunteer (Greater Boston Eruv Corporation, JewishBoston, Kosher Food Pantry). I love woodworking, radio-control modeling, teaching adult education and, most of all, spending quality time with my amazing family.

What is my work style?
My approach is to work collaboratively and decisively on complex tasks by building consensus, utilizing data and metrics to inform decisions, and following through with projects to their conclusion.

How do people describe me?
Kind, compassionate, thoughtful, committed, smart, ethical, collaborative, flexible, informed, communicative, determined; a critical thinker; a hard worker, strong decision-maker, problem solver, and consensus builder; a good partner; engages with people younger and older

Civic Engagement

2022-2025 - Town Meeting Member, Precinct 14, produced Capsule Summary documents following Town Meetings for Town Residents to review and assimilate the results of each Town Meeting
2024 - Brokered meeting between Pierce School Reconstruction Project Team and Harvard Office of Sustainability to ensure that, to the extent technologically possible, the new Pierce School is built of materials that are toxic chemical free.
2023 - Appointed to Pedestrian Advisory Committee (reports to Transportation Board)
2022 - Appointed to Moderator's Committee on PFAS; helped to craft Resolution Warrant Articlce that passed at Fall 2023 Town Meeting
2022 - Authored Amendment to Warrant Article on Snow Removal to support needs of Orthodox Jewish community when storms occur just before or during the Sabbath
2019 - Appointed to Select Board Committee on Pedestrian-Friendly Street Lighting; report issued to Select Board in 2021 for application in future capital improvement projects