Vivian Girard
I grew up in the South of France surrounded by cows, studied them in school, and came to the US to work on a dairy farm in rural Minnesota. Some changes in circumstance led me to Boston, and then to Dorchester where I became involved in building construction and renovation. I have since worked on a variety of projects. I have a particular interest on housing that is affordable, energy efficient and good city planning that is pedestrian and bike friendly. More recently, along with business partner Jack Wu and my wife Elisa, we opened a neighborhood cafe (home.stead café) near where we live in Fields Corner. I have lived on Ditson St, one block away from the site of 141 Westville for the past 16 years.
Elisa Girard
A transfer from Chicago, Elisa spent 17 years after college in Boston working as a household manager, In 2015, Elisa embraced the challenge of starting home.stead cafe where she now enjoys baking every afternoon and creating special evening events such as Open Mic and Storytelling for the community. Elisa has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art and has been involved in a number of creative enterprises throughout Boston.
Jennifer West
Jen is the main designer on the project and a senior associate at Boehm Architecture. With Boehm since 2007, she has led private residential and community-scale projects for several Boston area non-profit organizations. Jen draws upon diverse experiences in the arts, real estate development, and construction and has a particular interest in adaptive reuse and small scale urban intervention. Jen has lived and been a landlord in Fields Corner for the past 13 years.
For additional information you may contact Vivian at: