Libby Levison, an international health consultant for organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, the International Rescue Committee, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, has more than 10 years’ experience in public health work on clean water and sanitation issues. A Harvard native who graduated from Bromfield in 1979 and holds both a master’s degree in public health and a doctorate in computer science, Levison’s public health work has taken her to Malawi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Cameroon, Uganda, and Kenya.
Libby Levison. (Courtesy photo)
She is drawn to service on the Board of Health by environmental concerns, specifically about water quality in public and private wells, and by her interest in developing effective nontoxic strategies in the fight against mosquito- and tick-borne illnesses. She is also acutely aware of the difficulties facing many Harvard homeowners whose septic systems no longer comply with Title 5, the state sanitary code, and of the health board’s responsibility to work with homeowners to find viable solutions.
Levison’s experience on that front is personal. When her mother died in 2008 and the family home on East Bare Hill Road was sold, both the septic system and well had to be replaced before the sale could go through. She says she remembers how “scary and emotional” that was, but she learned from that experience that there are many options for homeowners in similar circumstances and that the Board of Health plays an important role in helping to sort them out. Levison says she approached that situation the same way she would approach the problem as a health board member—by talking to engineers and installers and doing a lot of online research to make sure she understood the issues. In her case, the solution required a variance from the Board of Health, whose members she found to be “reasonable and willing to help.”
Control without chemicals
Asked for her views on mosquito control, Levison advocates finding ways to protect public health without putting too many chemicals in the environment. In a wooded town like Harvard, with its many wetlands areas, she doesn’t think roadside spraying is effective. In her experience, the simplest and most effective way to cut down on mosquitoes is to eliminate standing water around houses, in pans under potted plants, rain barrels, or wherever else water tends to collect.
As Harvard grows, the Board of Health will likely encounter new challenges in protecting the water supply, which is already laced with arsenic, salt, and other contaminants in some areas. Here again, she says, it’s important for the board to take the lead in researching the issues and educating the public. If the town really wants a diversified economy with a greater commercial component, “that’s hard to do without a sewer system,” she says, predicting more Board of Health involvement in that issue.
After a time away, Levison moved back to Harvard several years ago and has become a part-time apple grower, hard-cider maker, and beekeeper. She is also a volunteer with the American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts Disaster Action Team. In Harvard, she was on the Harvard Solar Garden steering committee.
What prompted her decision to run for the Board of Health? “I understand that a small town runs on volunteers. I decided it was time for me to volunteer and the Board of Health seems like the best fit,” she says. “I think I have something I can contribute.”
