Linda Dorcena Forry (born 1973) is a former Democratic member of the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

, who represented the 1st Suffolk district from June 2013 - January 2018. She previously represented the 12th Suffolk District in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

after winning a special election in April 2005.

Haitian-American Haitian Americans (french: Haïtiens-Américains; ht, ayisyen ameriken) are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian origin or descent. The largest proportion of Haitians in the United States live in Little Haiti to the South Florida are ...

, Dorcena Forry, is the former House Chair of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business.

Early life

Dorcena Forry was born and raised in the Dorchester neighborhood of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. She attended St. Kevin Grammar School and Monsignor Ryan Memorial High School in Dorchester before matriculating to Boston College.Manly, Howard (2013-05-02
"Key legislators endorse Forry"
''

Bay State Banner The ''Bay State Banner'' is an independent newspaper primarily geared toward the readership interests of the African-American community in Boston, Massachusetts. The ''Bay State Banner'' was founded in 1965 by Melvin B. Miller who remains the ch ...

''. Retrieved 2013-05-02. She graduated from BC's Carroll School of Management in 1997. Dorcena Forry received a master's degree in Public Administration from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

in 2014.Charlotin, Manolia (2011-03-15
"Life in a Whirlwind: Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry juggles official duties, motherhood"
''Boston Haitian Reporter''.

Career

After graduating from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...

, Dorcena Forry was a legislative assistant, working for then-State Representative Charlotte Golar Richie (Fifth Suffolk District serving Roxbury and Dorchester). When she left the State House in 1999 to work for the executive staff at the City of Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development, she had risen to the position of Acting Chief of Staff. From 2005 to 2013, Dorcena Forry represented the Commonwealth's 12th Suffolk House district, a cross-section that includes parts of the town of Milton and the city of Boston, including Dorchester, Hyde Park and Mattapan. In 2009, Forry served as Chair of the Black and Latino Caucus. That same year, she was appointed Chairman of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses. Dorcena Forry won the Democratic nomination in the April 2013 special primary election to succeed state Senator Jack Hart in the First Suffolk Senate district, defeating Rep. Nick Collins. She defeated Republican Joseph A. Ureneck in the final election on May 28 and was sworn in on June 14, 2013. She stepped down on January 25, 2018, to become a vice president at Suffolk Construction.

Personal

Dorcena Forry is married to Bill Forry, managing editor of the Reporter Newspapers in Boston. The couple live in Lower Mills, Dorchester and have four children: John, Conor, Madeline and Norah. Three of her children were born during her tenure in the House of Representatives.

Awards

* 2011 MPAH Haiti Movie Awards Humanitarian Award Recipienthttp://haitimovieaward.com/?page_id=571 Motion Picture Association of Haiti

References

External links

Massachusetts General Court - State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry
- official MA Senate website
Linda Dorcena Forry for State Senate
campaign web site
Project Vote Smart - Representative Linda Dorcena Forry (MA)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Linda Dorcena Forry
2006
campaign contributions
Constituent Website - Representative Linda Dorcena Forry (MA)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forry, Linda Docena 1973 births Living people American politicians of Haitian descent Carroll School of Management alumni Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Suffolk University alumni Women state legislators in Massachusetts Harvard Kennedy School alumni 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians