MassEquality Endorses Natalie Higgins for 4th Worcester District State Representative

For Immediate Release
June 24, 2016
Contact: Natalie Higgins, 978-602-3772
Deborah Shields, JD, MPH, Executive Director, MassEquality, 617-878-2300

MassEquality Endorses Natalie Higgins for 4th Worcester District State Representative

LEOMINSTER -- The MassEquality PAC announced its endorsement of Natalie Higgins, Democratic candidate for State Representative in the 4th Worcester District. “Natalie is an effective advocate and longtime supporter of the LGBTQ community,” said MassEquality Executive Director Deborah Shields, JD, MPH. “Her experience and awareness of LGBTQ issues makes her ideally suited to be an influential advocate for the community on Beacon Hill.”

Higgins is running for the Leominster House seat that incumbent Rep. Dennis Rosa has announced he will not seek this fall. She is an attorney and executive director of the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts, or PHENOM, a nonprofit that advocates for better funding, more affordability and accessibility for students, and better support for our faculty and staff in public higher education.

A 2006 graduate of Leominster High School, Higgins obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UMass Amherst, earned her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 2014.

She has worked for the last ten years as a community advocate, first as a Rape Crisis Center Teen Counselor/Community Educator throughout Central Massachusetts.  Then, as a law student, she worked in Governor Patrick’s Office, the Worcester Juvenile Court, Community Legal Aid’s Elder Law Unit, and with the Reproductive Justice Unit of the Human Rights Law Network in New Delhi, India.

Higgins has pledged to defend public education, increase access to mental health services and create economic development opportunities as State Representative. She also supports a wide range of MassEquality issues, including nondiscrimination protections for transgender people, comprehensive sexuality education, and increased healthcare access for homeless youth.

“The last few weeks has been a rollercoaster of emotions, from celebrating Pride to mourning those lost in Orlando," said Natalie Higgins. "I have been encouraged to see my community come together against hate and I am excited to have the support of MassEquality and to continue my work with them to ensure everyone in Leominster and across Massachusetts can thrive without discrimination and oppression based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”

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