Nancy Stiening

We’d like to introduce you to Nancy Stiening our Esplanade neighbor and Secretary of the Board of Trustees.  She and her husband, Rae, have been owners since January 2000.  They had been living in Amherst where Rae was professor of Physics and Astronomy at U Mass and had wanted to return to city living and have loved Esplanade-living ever since!  Their son, John, lives with his wife in Tucson, AZ and their hope is to be able to see them when traveling is safe again. Nancy and Rae continue to be Covid-cautious and are happy here.

During that time, she helped write the by-laws to get approval for the ECPT to be incorporated as a community group, a 501 (c) (4). Nancy also worked for the Cambridge Election Commission. She was the Warden in one of the precincts in Cambridge, as she says “…in charge of the place.  Fun, and I recommend to anyone who can last from 6 am to 9 or 10 pm, which is now beyond my staying power!  They train you well, and you meet lots of interesting and some not so interesting people! Something people might look into.” 

Nancy’s message to Esplanade residents is: “Don’t forget you’re part of a larger community. Get out and get involved. The ECPT is a great, hard working neighborhood group and welcomes new members.”  For more details about the meetings, and to get on the e-mail list, send a note to the President Chuck Hinds: chuckhinds@msn.com  She also wants us not to forget about the good work the East End House does. https://eastendhouse.org/  (More on the East End House in this issue of the Update.)

Nancy, originally from Trenton, New Jersey, graduated from Goucher College and her first job took her to New York City as a technical editor for the Journal of Cell Biology. From there she moved to California and continued her professional life as an editor, technical writer and proofreader. After her marriage, Rae’s career as professor in astronomy and particle physics brought the couple to Stanford University where Nancy was elected to the School Board in Sunnyvale, CA. Then, the next moves were to Chicago and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Chicago; the Superconducting Supercollider Accelerator outside Dallas, Texas; and, as Nancy reports, “ We also spent a year at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research when John was 1, while Rae worked on new accelerator.  It was in an underground tunnel, so he could go from Switzerland to France without showing a passport, which I couldn’t do.  All a strain on my poor French!!”

Nancy recalls their first night in their new condo in the summer of 2000 when they were sleeping on air mattresses since their house in Amherst had not been sold yet and they had left their furniture there. Nancy’s air mattress collapsed and she lay on the floor listening to the trucks rattling down Binney Street. Taking action the next morning, she called city hall about all the trucks. Not one to refuse to help, Nancy saw an opportunity and that was the beginning of her years of work with the community. She has been an active member of the ECPT (East Cambridge Planning Team) and was its secretary for 15 years. 

Through all these moves, Nancy has continued her work and community participation. As she says, “You get out of something what you put into it. So, if you see something that needs to be done, then get involved.” Since she has been in Cambridge, Nancy has been a member of the MIT Women’s Chorale http://web.mit.edu/womensleague/womenschorale/  and she encourages all of us to check out their programs.  She is a member of PEO International: “Women helping women reach for the stars.” https://www.peointernational.org/  and has been the local chapter’s President twice. She continues to do Foster Care Reviews for the Department of Children’s and Family Service, representing the child as a Community Volunteer.  She and Rae also hold season tickets to the Metropolitan Opera traveling Amtrak round-trips on Saturdays for the performances. Nancy’s involvement has been the result of her reaching out, speaking up, meeting people, and taking action, a combination of being at the right place at the right time and doing the right thing! All of this speaks to Nancy’s generosity, curiosity, and friendliness.

And, now that she is a Board of Trustees member and Secretary, she “plans to discuss with the rest of the board and management how to let owners know about maintenance and replacement costs for work which will have to be done partially at owners expense so they can budget for it.”   Nancy also noted that the “whole building needs to be more inclusive” and appreciates the work the ECG is doing in this area. She hopes that the Esplanade residents reach out to each other and get involved inside as well as outside the building! Nancy concludes: “I’m not going anywhere and want to continue to help!” So when you see Nancy walking by, say hello and thank her for her contributions in the community and the Esplanade! 

----Jane Hilburt-Davis