Dr. Maria Antonieta “Antoinette” Nestor has been a Cambridge resident for over nine years. Originally from Chile, she has lived and worked in many places around the world, including Canada, the United States and Ireland. She is a mother of three young boys and also works full time for the University of Cambridge.

She is the Founder of “A Toy’s Life and Beyond”, a social enterprise based in Cambridge, whose purpose is to teach children and their parents about recycling and the circular economy in a fun way (and now part of Transition Cambridge). She also produced and hosted of The Eddington Hour, a community radio show that brings an insight into the new neighbourhood of North West Cambridge (stopped due to Covid).

Antoinette is passionate about the environment, local communities and climate justice issues. She has organised the cleaning of local playgrounds and started toy libraries within the City. She was also one of the One Step Greener Ambassadors during COP26 and a Baton bearer for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022.

She completed her PhD at the School of Law, Trinity College Dublin where she specialised in community economic development lawyering.  She also holds a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from University College Dublin (UCD) and a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) where she pioneered the Public Interest Law & Policy specialisation. She is also a trained legal interpreter and translator, and holds a diploma in journalism.  

She is also heavily involved in climate change issues locally and internationally. She has attended meetings organised by the United Nations as well as COP26 and COP27.

She is a Director of Studies at Lucy Cavendish College where she also leads their Public Interest Law Group and is also a member of the Net-Zero committee at Murray Edwards College. 

I am re-standing to continue as a City Councillor representing Castle as I would like to engage more full time working mothers into local politics and be an example to them. I feel there is a lack of voice representing mothers in politics and the enactment of local policies that directly affect our children and local schools.  My place of employment is in Castle Ward as well as my children’s primary school. I know the new communities in Eddington and Darwin Green via the Toy Swaps I organise and the numerous talks with parents during the school run and playgrounds, as well as my engagement with them as a councillor over the past year.

Moreover, I want to make a positive difference within the City of Cambridge (and Castle Ward) and contribute to the advancement of a better world – a world that is threatened by climate change and the effects of it. I want to believe I can make a difference in my children’s lives and help in the creation of a resilient community. I want to work in a collaborative environment where climate change and environmental issues are not discussed or approached in silos but seen as part of a whole, where I know my skills and knowledge can help in creating and implementing solutions. I would like to be an example to others and show that no matter how small of a voice we think we have, we can all make a difference.