Jenny Graham is a mom, the vice chair of the Medford School Committee, and currently chairs the committee building Medford’s brand-new high school. By day, she runs Zelus Consulting Group, a 22-year-old firm focused on process optimization and change management for healthcare and government clients. She and Felicia go back to 2019, when both were on the campaign trail. In this episode, Jenny shares what pulled her into local politics, what Our Revolution Medford is (versus how outsiders assume it works), and how misinformation spreads in local politics.
Jenny also breaks down something most people get wrong: under Massachusetts law, a school committee isn’t an advisory board, it has the power to hire and evaluate the superintendent and set the entire school budget, independent of the mayor or city council. She talks about what it’s like to conduct a superintendent’s performance review entirely in public, why Medford’s budgeting process shifted from “what can we get” to “what do we need,” and how Chapter 70 state aid works. Seven years into the job, Jenny reflects on real wins, including a 2024 override that added $7 million to the school budget, and why progress in local government is slow, resource-constrained, and almost always a team effort.
Chapter List
0:08 — Introducing Jenny Graham!
2:01 — Why Jenny Ran for School Committee
6:11 — How Jenny and Felicia Met on the Campaign Trail
8:58 — Our Revolution Medford: Shared Values, Accountability & Disagreeing Without Falling Apart
13:46 — The Biggest Surprise of Elected Office & the “Nefarious Purposes” Myth
16:19 — Why Local Government Resists Simple Answers
22:02 — Easthampton’s Budget Override & Who School Committee Actually Serves
25:40 — School Committee 101: Its Own Government Under Massachusetts Law
34:21 — Performance Reviews Done in Public & What a Healthy Superintendent Relationship Looks Like
41:04 — “The Hardest Job in Politics”: Superintendent Pay, Burnout & Building the Budget
45:09 — From “What Can We Get” to “What Do We Need”: Property Taxes & Chapter 70
49:37 — Seven Years In: Wins, the 2024 Override & Wrap-Up
