Gov. Healey says resilience is key during tough times

A hero is defined as a person admired for achievements and noble qualities or someone who shows great courage. For Gov. Maura Healey, she didn’t have to look far to find hers.

“My mom raised us as a single mom. I’m the oldest of five. She went back to work as a nurse and worked in the schools as a school nurse. I learned tremendous resilience from my mom, who made it all work, even though she was raising the five of us alone,” she said.

For Healey, the work her grandmother did both in her home and community served as inspiration for her future in public service.

“She, too, was the primary breadwinner in her household. She also worked as a nurse and also managed to keep up with a lot of friendships and a lot of involvement in her community. She served as a role model for the importance of investing in things around you that will fill and enrich your life, and what you can do in community with one another,” the New Hampshire native said of her grandmother.

Nowadays, the residents of Massachusetts serve as an inspiration for Gov. Healey.

“I see so many examples of resilience every single day in this state. I have tremendous empathy for what people are going through, what they have to overcome, what they have to work through, and the challenges that they’re presented with. I just look at people, I’m like, How do you do it? Where do you get the strength? Where do you get the will? Where do you get the wherewithal and then make it happen? And that’s just such a lesson for me as a leader,” she said.

The governor knows a thing or two about resilience thanks to some challenges that she faced early on in life.

“It probably goes back to the time that my parents split up. I was 10 years old, and it was then that I sort of assumed a level of responsibility in my family for my four younger brothers and sisters, and at the time, it was hard. It was challenging. I am glad that I had that experience, though it was pretty formative. It really forced me to work hard in school. It forced me to find an outlet, which for me became sports and athletics. But that was a really critical moment, and it brought us together as brothers and sisters,” the governor shared.

The former Harvard Crimson women’s basketball team co-captain draws on not only her resilience but also from constituents that she serves to help navigate through the current political landscape.

“There are challenges. It’s hard, particularly now with this new Trump administration navigating, how are you going to be able to deliver health care and food and make good on building more housing in the state? How are we going to avoid doing things that take us backward as a society, when people are seemingly too often devaluing the worth of women and people of color at the table? These are challenging times, but I look at the examples and the lived experience of what people are going through right here in the state, and I’m blown away by people’s resilience, and that, in some way, helps give me a better understanding and wherewithal to find the resilience to be able to to do what needs doing here on behalf of the State,” she said.

At a time when the federal government is slashing budgets and programs, Gov. Healey said this is the moment that the State needs to lean in even harder.

“There’s a reason that Massachusetts is number one in the country in education, in healthcare, in innovation. We were ranked the best state to live if you’re a working mom if you’re a working dad, the best state to raise a family, the best state to have a baby, and the most environmentally safe state with the cleanest water and air. And that’s not to say we don’t have challenges, we do, but we have so much going for us, and part of what gets us to who we are and such a desirable state where so many good things are happening is because of our values, because of our policies. The reason we have had success is because of who we are and what we’ve done as a state,” she said.

For Gov. Healey leaning in means filling in the gaps left by those federal cuts.

“If a federal administration is looking to take those away. We’re going to fund women’s health care. Right? The Federal Government and the Trump administration shouldn’t be telling women what to do with their bodies or making decisions. Government shouldn’t be making health decisions for us, and that’s why I’m proud that we continue to provide health care here in Massachusetts. Take away free school lunch and breakfast. Take away so many things that so many people depend on. But we, Massachusetts, need to continue to fund those things, right? I believe that we’re a state that has had success because of the things that we’ve leaned into,” she said.

Leaning in also means embracing differences. While some see diversity as a problem, Gov. Healey sees it as an asset and part of what sets Massachusetts apart and helps the state thrive.

“If some want to turn away from diversity and remove that chair at the table from women and people of color and LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities and you name it, we’re going to be the state that says, ‘No, diversity has made Massachusetts stronger. Diversity is a strength.’ That’s not a flaw. It’s a strength in government. When we have better representation, we get better policies, and better outcomes. Businesses that have adopted diversity practices, bringing more women, more people of color, into the board and the C suites, they have a better bottom line,” the governor said.