Molly DeMarco, research assistant professor in the UNC Department of Nutrition, volunteers with Justice United, Orange Politics, Orange County Transit Advocates, and the IFC. Allison DeMarco, a scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute, is also involved with Justice United and volunteers in several capacities organizing against racism and fighting homelessness. Born in California, Molly and Allison moved here to pursue postdoc fellowships, arriving a year apart. When purchasing a home, Molly originally refused to look at brick houses, but “I had to look at this one because it was on Justice Street.” The house, formerly owned by the assistant fire chief, sits on a double lot that used to hold an in-ground pool.
Allison finds the size of the community “really manageable” and enjoys that one can “get involved and understand what’s going on;” she also appreciates “how engaged people are even if you don’t agree with them.” Molly appreciates Orange County’s history and food traditions, and enjoys that Orange County has “farmland and world-class performers within five miles of each other.”