Marsha Semuels, a professed long-time lover of libraries, is a higher education executive and strategist.  She worked as executive administrative dean for Tufts University School of Medicine and as assistant provost at Harvard University for a combined total of 30 years.  During her time at Tufts, she was responsible for planning and managing construction for the medical education building, which houses a 40,000 square foot library that serves as the central community space for the Tufts Health Science Campus in Boston.  Marsha has a small consulting business that specializes in strategic solutions for education, non-profits and health care.

A 40 year resident of Belmont, both of her children attended Belmont public schools.  Her son teaches at Chenery Middle School and her husband Joel is a long-time town meeting member who chairs the Friends of the Council on Aging.  Marsha is a commissioner for Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women and the Belmont Recreation Commission and serves on the board of the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.