PBHA Elevates Tomlinson

Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) last night elected a female president for the first time since 1993 and also elected nine other executive positions.

Elisabeth A. Tomlinson '99, formerly PBHA Summer Committee Coordinator, was elected president of the organization.

"The main focus of PBHA is on the families, adults and children we serve, the communities we work with and the social change we advocate for," said Tomlinson.

Tomlinson said last night that her most important priority would be to maintain the agreement reached in September between the organization and the University regarding PBHA's autonomy on campus.

Tomlinson said the agreement must be executed "in a spirit of mutual respect and in a way that preserves PBHA as a student-run, staff-supported public service organization."

Out of the nine executive positions elected last night, four will be held by women next year at PBHA.

"As a woman I believe it's important to have visible woman leaders on campus," said Tomlinson, who hails from Durham, North Carolina.

Jason Q. Purnell '99 was elected vice-president and Scott M. Damrauer '99 was elected treasurer.

Purnell said he will try to bring a sense of unity to the large, multi-branched organization.

"My focus is on making volunteers and directors members of PBHA and not just workers on various committees and programs that don't relate to each other," Purnell said. "This involves a grassroots effort to establish ownership on behalf of every member of PBHA for the mission and goals of the organization."

Candidates were elected by PBHA's 75-member Student Cabinet, a group which is composed primarily of the directors of PBHA's programs.