Colleen Laird, a lifelong Bethlehem resident and engaged community organizer, has announced her bid as a Democratic candidate for a seat on city council. Colleen is a 2008 summa cum laude graduate of Moravian University and presently works for the University as the Assistant Chief Information Officer for Strategy and Communications. Her professional career has included work in graphic design, marketing, communications, and project management for higher education and small businesses.

Colleen believes that civic engagement and service are essential to community vitality and growth. She believes in meeting community members where they are to ensure that voices across all segments of the population are heard, and that the city is at a key stage in development where revitalization and growth must be responsibly balanced with honoring the ethos of the community. If elected, she promises to promote transparency and accessibility to information and services. She would prioritize holistic community development that includes affordable housing, economic strategies that support small business success, walkable communities, and environmental justice initiatives.

In the community, Colleen is a well-known leader and active volunteer. She presently serves as the chair of the Economic Vitality Committee for the Northside Alive neighborhood revitalization initiative, working with business owners, community partners, and resident volunteers on efforts to promote, support, and foster collaboration among local businesses.

Colleen also currently serves as the president of the William Penn Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization, where she spearheaded a successful new school art exhibit and silent auction, has led efforts to integrate technology in PTO initiatives to increase accessibility for families, and has been a general volunteer for several years.

As a Lifetime Member of Girl Scouts, Colleen has volunteered as a troop leader since 2008, working with girls from kindergarten through 12th grade. She was honored in 2020 with the Girl Scouts of Eastern PA Innovator Award, which “recognizes a candidate who uses her creativity to imagine and implement solutions. An innovator brings new ideas that benefit a troop or service unit or provides a ‘spark’ to enhance current activities or events.”

Colleen is also a founder of the Bethlehem Food Co-Op, a community-owned grocery store which is under construction on Broad Street in the Northside Alive retail corridor. Colleen was co-chair of the Co-Op’s initial steering committee, chair of the interim board, and served multiple terms as the board chair, until her term limit in 2019. Throughout her tenure with the cooperative, she held numerous additional volunteer leadership roles, including chairing the communications committee, the real estate committee, and grant task groups, seeing the organization through the rigorous hurdles of early development with a focus on long term sustainability of business.

When she is not working or volunteering, Colleen enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, camping and hiking, cooking (including “Chopped Challenges” with her daughter), gardening, and creating art in a variety of mediums.

Colleen sees a role on city council as a natural way to continue to give back to her community.