David Turcotte:
A Superhero for Future Generations
By Leonor Turcotte

He doesn't fly from building to building with a flashing crimson cape, he doesn't use webbing to fling himself from ledge to ledge, or change into his superhero clothes in public phone booths, but he still is a superhero, trying to save the world, one project at a time. Dressed in conservative khaki slacks, and a plaid button down shirt, David Turcotte sits in his overwhelming cluttered mill office at The Center for Family, Work, and Company, where he has been working as a program manager for the past seven years. He first became interested in pursuing a career in environment, community, and economic sustainability when he was a child. "I remember when you couldn't swim in the river and I can remember even in Dracut, the brook near my house, seeing oil and chemicals floating on top of the water because there were no controls, people and companies would just dump chemicals into the water ways," said Turcotte. Today, his agency, works in collaboration with many community centers to focus on important projects that will help keep future generations healthy and safe. He has worked with the center's Healthy Homes project, which is funded by the federal department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). "What we try to do is raise awareness of potential hazards that families may be encountering in their homes," said Turcotte. "Whether it's secondary smoke from tobacco, whether its radon, lead paint, pesticides or using simple household cleaning products that contain toxic chemicals, we provide training to the staff of community organizations that actually go into the homes to provide education and other services." Turcotte was also the co-director in a project called Planning for a Sustainable Lowell, which utilized the scenario workshop planning model developed in Europe. "It's called scenario workshop because part of the process is helping develop these futuristic scenarios on what life would, or could look like twenty years into the future," said Turcotte. "We had technical experts, business representatives, government officials, and a diverse group of community leaders and residents that participated in a two day workshop where they developed a vision of what they wanted a sustainable Lowell to look like in twenty years, as well as action plans to achieve their vision." Many of the ideas produced in this project were incorporated into the city of Lowell's comprehensive plan, which now includes a chapter on sustainability. As a life-long resident of the area, he is strongly committed to assuring the economic redevelopment of the city benefits all groups, equally. Turcotte is a graduate of Dracut High School and went on to obtain a certificate as an electrical technician, where he ironically worked testing missile guidance systems at Raytheon. Not happy with his job, he eventually went back to school and graduated from the University of Lowell with a degree in Sociology and a minor in political science. He lived in Mexico for sixteen months, where he taught English at a bilingual school and became fluent in Spanish. After returning home, he worked in a number of positions, including community organizer, and director of employment and training programs, as well as a political campaign organizer. While working on his master's degree in community economic development, he developed and obtained funding for a refugee and immigrant self-sufficiency project at the center were he currently works. "Almost everyday I get to do something different; it's exciting to work with different people within the community to better the quality of life for the current and future generations," said Turcotte.