Gina Arena has called Westchester County, District Two home all her life. Born and raised to a working-class family, Gina has a strong work ethic, sense of family, and a deep awareness of the public well-being. Being a working mother of eight children, Gina understands the challenges of balancing work, family, and advocating for a strong community. She is committed to making Northern Westchester the best possible place to live, work and raise a family. As our district’s tax burden continues to rise, among the many concerns, Gina is committed to working so her parents can stay in the communities they love and make sure when her children move out they are able to stay close to home.
Gina’s life experiences have steered her toward civil service. Both Gina and her husband Jim come from a long line of volunteers in our community, making service a part of her life event at an early age. Raised and educated in upper Westchester she graduated from John Jay Sr. High School in Cross River. Through the years Gina was an avid girl scout, where she learned about the importance of giving back. Gina always made herself available to volunteer throughout her community. Married at St. Patrick’s Church in Bedford Village, Gina and Jim have been married for 32 years, and have raised eight beautiful children who have all attended the Somers Central School District. Her family extends past the service of volunteer firefighters to include her daughter serving in the United States Army.
Gina herself has served in various capacities as a community advocate. One of her first works in public advocacy was for children with autism who were unable to attend public school. Researching cutting edge educational programs and developing a program for her own child who was not getting the education she needed, Gina was instrumental in creating the Foundation for Educating Children with Autism and the Devereux Millwood Learning Center. As a parent whose child suffers an opioid addiction, Gina works one day at a time to help her daughter to be strong in her recovery. Gina is an advocate for families going through this knowing the vigilance, struggle, and hope that a family needs to tackle the disease of addiction. While no struggle a child goes through can be compared to another, Gina tragically lost one of her children to brain cancer in 2005. Due to her son’s loss of life, she and her husband worked tirelessly to establish the Just Imagine Making Miracles Yours (JIMMY) Foundation in their son’s memory. The organization helps children suffering from life-threatening diseases and/or injuries by helping with financial assistance.
Her life, her past, and her work makes one thing clear: where troubles lie, Gina Arena fights to find a solution.