Last month, Attorney General Maura Healey tapped Ava Callender Concepcion, a Dorchester attorney, to fill the vacant public safety seat on the state’s Cannabis Control Commission.

Concepcion, a self-described “Mattapan girl” who grew up near the Mattapan/Dorchester border, now lives in Uphams Corner with her husband and 14 month-year-old child. In an interview with the Reporter, she described how being a lifelong Boston resident compelled her to pursue a career rooted in social justice and advocate for change at the local level.