The League of Women Voters of Lexington invites you to join us at our First Friday Forum on April 7, 2023, 9:30AM at Cary Memorial Library for an update on Emergency Preparedness in Lexington with Fire Chief Derek Sencabaugh and IT Director Dorinda Goodman.

More severe weather over the past years has resulted in damage to persons and property that has not been seen in the past. Increasing reliance on digital communication has required the town to keep ahead of the technology changes required to maintain emergency alerts to both first responders and to citizens.

Chief Derek Sencebaugh has been on the Lexington Fire Department since 1995 and was appointed Fire Chief in 2019. The Fire Department’s mission is to protect the lives and property of the community from emergencies involving fire, medial issues, hazardous materials, and environmental causes. This is achieved through public information and education, fire code management and emergency response. 

Dorinda Goodman is the Director of IT for the Town of Lexington, MA. In this capacity, she manages Municipal technology, cybersecurity and operations and oversees core Town wide applications and services such as the Town financial systems, document management systems and core network infrastructure. Her first career of 10 years in medical research resulted in over 24 original research publications in the field of cardiovascular medicine and clinical trials. During this career her interest in technology developed in line with technology and computer advancements. Over the next 20 plus years, she worked in the technology field in academics, corporate and government organizations. In each organization she also served on chemical, biological, radiological, and medical response corps. She currently enjoys the diversity and challenges of Government technology. She has a dual bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry, numerous technical certifications, affiliations with GMIS, MSISAC and participates on cybersecurity advisory councils and working groups.

This program is the seventh in the 2022-2023 First Friday Forum series hosted by the League of Women Voters to promote awareness and understanding of public policy issues. There will be time for Q&A after the program. For more information about the forum or other activities of the League, go to https://my.lwv.org/massachusetts/lexington/calendar.

First Fridays are a monthly forum usually held on the first Friday of every month. Speakers present on topics of importance to Lexington residents. To see previous First Friday Forums, go to Past Events in the Calendar and search for "First Friday". 

The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization dedicated to the principles of self-government established in the Constitution of the United States. The League works to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government. All League forums are free and open to the public. For more information about the League go to https://my.lwv.org/massachusetts/lexington.