Linda Dowd
Linda graduated from Algonquin Regional High School in 1972 with a focus on art and joined the workforce soon after. She moved from Grafton to Leicester in 1995. After years in a variety of jobs, and while rearing her two daughters, she decided to go back to school when encouraged by her supervisor while employed in the Human Services field. The planned business degree was soon switched to a degree in Human Services from Quinsigamond Community College. Anna Maria College was next for a degree in Social Work and Linda had found her calling helping others working for a variety of agencies such as Alternatives Unlimited, Horace Mann Agency, Nazareth Home in Leicester and lastly, after rejoining the field from a short retirement, Summit Academy School in Worcester. The rewards, challenges, and vast experience from those thirty-plus years providing vocational, housing, educational, and therapeutic services to adult and student populations was a humbling experience. It has prepared Linda for her current position as a Deja New board member and a natural continuation of her social justice service background and education.
Besides joining the Deja New board in 2020, Linda has been a past president of The Grafton Center Playschool Board of Directors, member of the Leicester Council on Aging, member of the Anna Maria College Social Work Program Professional Advisory Committee, member of National Association of Social Workers Central Regional Council and long time member of the National Association of Social Workers.
Linda enjoys family time with her husband, two adult daughters, and her five grandchildren. Linda spends extra time gardening, hiking, quilting, sewing, and completing craft projects, some of which are sold in the Deja New shop. Linda joined the Deja New Board to “further her work towards social justice and service to others, continuing on the path of social work in retirement.”