Celeste Friend grew up in Needham, MA where her family attended the First Parish Unitarian Church.  She attended Univ. of MA in Amherst and later moved to NYC to obtain her PhD in Philosophy in 1995.  After several years in Ohio, she moved to the Mohawk Valley in 2002 to work at Hamilton College.  She bought her home in South Utica in 2005 and has taught at SUNY Polytechnic for the past 15 years.  She also makes jewelry and directs an annual Fine Arts Festival in Norwich.  Celeste has represented South Utica on Utica City Council for the past 5 years and is currently running for mayor.