Occupation: I work part-time for the Wilton Health Department as assistant sanitarian doing inspections and consulting, which is basically what I did for the town of Newtown when I worked for the Health Department for 11 years. I had stayed home to raise my four children, but when the “baby” was a junior in high school, I went back to school to finish my degree. Luckily, my family was very supportive.

How Long In Newtown: I grew up in Tennessee and kept moving north until we got to Connecticut. I’ve lived here since December 1965 in the same house on Tamarack Road, where we’ve undergone two remodels. My husband was a pilot. He had flown with someone who lived in New Milford and we looked at that town as a possible place to move, but we decided that it was too far away. Newtown was a perfect commuting distance.

Biggest Change: The town was a heck of a lot more quiet in those days. You’d see only one or two cars go down our road and we usually knew the drivers. We would sit on our deck and listen to the frogs and birds. Now we hear the builders and their heavy machinery. The town has become more closed in, really more suburban than rural. Years ago, we had more of a sense of community. Then people began moving away or moving up –– house swapping –– and the neighborhood changed.

Family: My husband, Jim, is sometimes known as James. We have four grown children. Robert lives in North Carolina, Kathryn lives in Georgia, Christa is in Boston, and Kary Anne lives in Connecticut.

Hobbies: I’ve just gone back to porcelain carving, and I am studying with sculptor Jean Mann in her New Fairfield studio.

Pets: Our cat is Anna, whom we adopted from our vet.

Favorite Books, Television: I enjoy listening to books on tape during my 40-minute commute to and from Wilton. Interestingly, I’ve found that sometimes the big name actors aren’t the best readers. I watch reruns on PBS, but that’s about it for television.

Organizations: I am president of the Newtown Forest Association (NFA), a nonprofit land trust that has stewardship over approximately 1,000 acres of open space, wetlands, and forests. I began working for the town when Dave Thompson was conservation officer, and he asked me to join NFA 11 years ago. I feel very positive about our NFA Board of Directors because we have such diverse backgrounds. The NFA Annual Meeting is Tuesday, May 17, at the Fireside Inn at 7 pm, and we are always looking for new members. Check out our website at www.newtownforestassociation.org.

I also belong to the Connecticut Environmental Health Association (CEHA), and I am a member of the Ad Hoc Open Space Task Force, serving as its president last year.

Vivid Newtown Memories: I remember 1976, when we celebrated the nation’s bicentennial, and what a nice event that was. Now people are walking around who were born during that year! I also have good memories of working with my Hanover District neighbors when about 300 acres were purchased for a housing development. We hired experts to look into the best use for that property and we managed to get the plans changed for the better several times. As a result, we got Cavanaugh Pond donated to the Newtown Forest Association.

Favorite Vacation Spot: For me, it’s a vacation when I just go, period. Since my degree is in geology, I am a member of the Geological Society of America, and I occasionally take field trips that involve traveling to Iceland, New Zealand, and Wales.

Personal Philosophy: I try to make things better. Whether I’m working for the Open Space Task Force or the Newtown Forest Association, I see what’s out there and then I try to improve on it.

Snapshot: Martha Wright