Biography
Mary-Katherine Stone was born and raised in north central Alabama, the daughter of an Egyptian immigrant. She received her BA in interdisciplinary studies with an in-depth study in human services and special populations through the New College program at the University of Alabama. She completed her MS in occupational therapy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and did postgraduate coursework in integrative medicine at George Washington University in Washington D.C. After the completion of her schooling in 2016, she moved to Vermont, drawn by the state’s natural beauty and the sense of genuine community. She currently works as an occupational therapist at the University of Vermont Medical Center where she also served as a co-leader of the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Employee Resource Group (ERG). She additionally works as a coordinator at the Hope Lodge, a substitute teacher in the Burlington School District, and as a float staff at the COTS Family Shelter. She holds positions on the boards of Leadership Champlain and Isham Farm’s First: Earth and is a member of Vermont Professionals of Color. She is a Dolores Huerta and Barbara Jordan Women’s Leadership Program fellow and a fellow of the Future Caucus Innovation Lab’s Strengthening Democracy program. She serves as co-chair of the Vermont chapter of Future Caucus, a bi-partisan group supporting young legislators, and a member of the Climate, Rainbow, Women’s and Social Equity caucuses. She serves as clerk of the House Committee on Education.
Candidate occupation
Occupational Therapist
Why are you running for office?
I am running for office because I’m a story keeper. I have worked as a healthcare worker for over a decade and have been a part of people’s most vulnerable stories. I have seen and been a part of stories of loss and despair but also stories of hope and resiliency. I ran to uplift those stories and ensure that the voices who told them were uplifted and supported, particularly the voices that have been historically and systematically under or mis-represented. I have done so over the past two years by pushing for more support for our public schools, ensuring better access to housing and childcare, supporting our veterans and strengthening our healthcare system.
Issues in brief
Do you believe Vermonters are better off now than they were 10 years ago?
Yes
Do you believe Vermont needs a new education funding formula?
Yes
Do you support imposing new taxes on the wealthiest Vermonters?
Yes
Do you support the establishment of overdose prevention centers?
Yes
Do you support a ban on flavored tobacco products?
Yes
Do you support increasing penalties for property crimes such as shoplifting?
Yes
Do you believe Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election?
Yes
Issues in depth
What would you do to help grow Vermont’s economy?
Strengthening Vermont’s economy requires a multifaceted approach. We first need to recognize that we are an aging state and innovation to support a growing population is imperative. I am proud to have been a part of passing legislation that addresses workforce recruitment and retention head on, making it easier for healthcare workers to practice in this state, incentivizing teachers to enter our workforce, and protecting workers’ rights. I also recognize that the cost of living is at an all time high and we should be making it easier, not harder, for people to live, work, and thrive here. I have helped do so by improving access to more affordable healthcare, childcare, and housing. The work doesn’t stop there though and these efforts are things we need to continue to highlight in order to strengthen our economy and the workforce that fuels it.
What changes, if any, would you make to the way Vermont funds its schools?
We first must realize that the basic landscape of our public education system is deeply flawed and perpetuates systems of discrimination. We currently have two systems that are separate but equal as far as public funding. One being what funds our independent schools with public dollars but lacks the same oversight and regulations as our traditional public school system. While we do have a number of independent schools that do their best to provide education to all, until we codify public dollars-public rules into law, we put ourselves at risk to be funding systems that do not uphold our Vermont Constitutional duty to provide equitable education to all of Vermont’s children, also putting us at odds with the Carson versus Makin US Supreme Court ruling. Another topic that we must acknowledge and address are the baseline cost drivers to education in today’s time. Our schools are doing more than providing instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic. They are filling societal gaps to address systemic issues such as food insecurity and mental health needs. Addressing these issues will require innovation and an all hands on deck approach to support our schools in providing the high quality education our kids deserve at a cost Vermont can afford.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to address climate change? Please explain.
I am pleased with the great strides we have made to combat climate change and protect our natural resources in this state. I am proud to have been a part of passing key legislation to protect our pollinators, protect our natural landscape, ban toxic chemicals from consumer goods, and move Vermonters away from reliance on fossil fuels. However, complacency is the enemy of progress especially when we are facing the global crisis that is climate change. Therefore, we must always be asking ourselves “what more can we do?” We know that historic 100 year floods will continue to come, record high temps will continue to rise, and loss of key species will continue to occur. So, we must continue to do our part to counteract it by investing in renewable energy, bolstering sustainable transportation infrastructure, and supporting our farmers in engaging in sustainable agricultural practices.
Is Vermont doing enough, too much or not enough to regulate gun ownership? Please explain.
Vermont is a leader when it comes to common sense gun laws that govern gun ownership. I am proud to have been supportive of bills that enforced safe storage, a 72 hour waiting period, and an expansion of our extreme risk protection laws– framing those measures as a public safety and public health issue. However, we must always think about what more we can and should do to keep Vermonters safe, taking into account other complexities that contribute to gun violence such as: socioeconomic factors, structural inequalities, and social components. We should always be looking at evidence-based, common-sense solutions that can reduce gun violence and save lives, particularly at the intersections of those complexities.
What would you do to help ease Vermont’s housing crisis?
The housing crisis is not new. It began during the Great Recession that was precipitated by the 2007–08 U.S. financial crisis. While it’s important to enforce discipline and fairness in the system, the main goal should be to ensure an adequate supply of affordable housing for all. That means ensuring we have more senior housing for our seniors to age in place, housing for our workforce, and housing for our most vulnerable. I was proud to support legislation that struck a balance with preserving and protecting our natural landscapes and allowing common sense development in our town and city centers. However, conversations must continue to meet Vermont where it’s at, recognizing housing as a human right and a necessary one to keep our population and economy viable.
How would you address rising homelessness in Vermont?
It has become evident that houselessness is a substantial & growing problem in Vermont. While we must look at options to fund the construction and preservation of affordable housing, we also have to be realistic and meet people where they are at now with the resources they need. We should be utilizing federal and state funding in alignment with existing community based houselessness partners and efforts, reconsidering land use, strengthening tenant protections and rights, and coordinating wraparound services. We should commit to the implementation of a housing-first system orientation and response model, ensuring that people with complex needs can exit houselessness as quickly as possible and with the resources they need to have sustainable success. We can do that by holding ourselves and community partners accountable to short term housing placement goals, supporting validated assessment tools and processes to prioritize and target interventions, and by consistently projecting the need for additional supportive housing and reallocation of funding to take it to scale.
What would you do to increase access to health care services for Vermonters?
Healthcare is a human right- full stop. We have to recognize that first and stop treating it like a business above all else. The cost of healthcare impacts all Vermonters, stressing people’s livelihoods and pocketbooks. I am proud of the steps the House took this last biennium to expand access to Medicare, Medicaid but continued work to expand insurance and cover costs is imperative. We must also continue to expand on the work we passed to expand telehealth coverage, address healthcare worker shortages, and institute common sense medical liability reform by reducing insurance industry regulatory burdens that detract from patient care and increase costs. Behavioral health integration is also a huge area for growth, ensuring that we are providing Vermonters with the healthcare they deserve all the while reducing the stigma around it.
Financial disclosure
Candidates for state and legislative offices are required to submit a financial disclosure when filing to run. These disclosures include each source, but not the amount, of personal income of each candidate, and of their spouse or domestic partner, that singly or jointly totals more than $5,000 for the previous 12 months. The information provided is an opportunity for voters to learn about candidates’ potential conflicts of interest.
You can find Stone’s financial disclosure here.
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