Elizabeth Giannetta-Ramos grew up in the south end of Hartford, Connecticut, during the nineties, an era when the state’s capital was riddled with crime, gang wars, and gunfire.

伊丽莎白的家在哈特福德，她在西哈特福德的私立学校上学。 事后看来，她认为自己的童年是两全其美的——她的城市朋友和学校朋友分散在几个郊区城镇。

“Growing up in the nineties in Hartford was both great and scary,” Elizabeth revealed.

“Coming back into Hartford from school one day, we were with one of the best bus drivers, Ms. Izzy. She was getting ready to turn onto Fairfield Ave. — it’s crazy how I remember it like it was yesterday — and two cars racing toward us started shooting at each other,” she shared.

“Before they even got close to us, Ms. Izzy had us all duck as close to the bus floor as possible, and she took off. 当她走到下一个街角时，她停下车来检查我们每个人。

“We were all shaken up, but Ms. Izzy dropped each of us off at our homes and spoke to every parent. And that’s just one story showing how violent the city was at 3:30 when kids were getting out of school.”

“We couldn’t walk to the corner store or the nearest Boys & Girls Club because we would be walking through gang territory,” Elizabeth added.

“It wasn’t safe — not only for kids but also our parents, grandparents, teachers, and police officers.

“Over the years, I realized that I was blessed to get out of the city to go to a great school, but many of my friends that I grew up with didn’t have that option. For the hours I was in that suburban town, I felt safe, and my friends in Hartford 100% deserved a place where they felt safe too.”

改变人生的大会

Not wanting to be a bystander to the devastation happening beyond his front door, Elizabeth’s father was an active advocate for the betterment of his community.

In the spring of 1995, Mr. Giannetta planned to attend a 哈特福德地区团结起来 (HART) meeting in the basement of Saint Augustine Church.

“My dad walked into my room one night and asked me to go, and I didn’t want to go,” Elizabeth disclosed.

“I was 15 years old at the time, but he said, ‘Ellie, I need you to come with me,’ so I did.”

在邻里会议期间，房间里弥漫着恐惧的气氛——对居民的恐惧，对在外面玩耍的孩子们的恐惧。

“I didn’t start paying attention until one woman started complaining about ‘young people destroying the neighborhood’ and ‘not having any respect,’” Elizabeth told.

As accusations continued to fill the room, Elizabeth stood up, asserting that there wasn’t anything in the area for the local kids to do. 接着，一位年长的妇女向伊丽莎白提出了挑战。

“Well then, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!” the woman blurted.

“I WILL!” 伊丽莎白回答得很有信心。

“I was pretty sassy in my response to her,” Elizabeth recalled.

“But I was not going to let her talk about my friends like that, and I wouldn’t sit back and let her think all young people didn’t care about their community. I stood up for every young person in Hartford that evening.”

COMPASS的创建

在HART会议之后，伊丽莎白兑现了她“对此采取行动”的承诺。 15岁时，她对组织的热情开始于挨家挨户地为她附近的孩子们争取安全空间的支持。

“我在哈特福德和其他六个青少年在一起。 我们团结起来，去市政厅开会，调查了600个孩子，问他们放学后想要什么，”伊丽莎白详细说。

伊丽莎白和她的朋友们最初申请旱冰场的请求被拒绝后，得到了市政府的资助，建立了一个社区空间——1995年9月，绍森德骑士青年中心开始了。

“这是我们作为孩子的空间，这是我们玩耍的空间，这是我们不必担心外面发生了什么的空间。

“We started very small in the basement and gym of Saint Augustine school, but now we’ve grown into 指南针青年协作组, an amazing non-profit violence prevention organization that’s been around for over 25 years,” Elizabeth beamed.

As the 指南针伙伴关系主任, Elizabeth is referred to affectionately by her COMPASS kids as “Ms. Liz.”

Now a three-million-dollar agency with more than 60 employees, COMPASS拥有共同的愿景 for youth to feel secure in their community, live peacefully, and have the opportunities that help them reach their full potential.

“我可以说，我和哈特福德市一些最坚韧、最无情的人一起工作，”她容光焕发地说。

COMPASS项目的前青年 成为了企业主、社区活动家、医生、社会工作者和教师。

社区服务的家庭召唤

伊丽莎白从小就有很强的领导才能，她把自己的职业道德和忠诚归功于父亲。

“My dad’s dedication to his employer became clear to me when he had his first stroke in 2015. 他的公司和同事们为他的康复和基本需求筹集了资金。 When I walked into the office, everyone told me how much they loved my dad and how his commitment to the company was something that just doesn’t exist anymore.

“I’m also loyal,” Elizabeth noted.

“Twenty-six years at one organization is pretty unusual, especially when you started working there at 15.”

And like clockwork, just as Elizabeth saw her father lift his community, Elizabeth’s 14-year-old daughter, Madison, watches on as her mom carries the torch to strengthen her community.

“Madison grew up in the program as an ‘unofficial’ COMPASS kid,” Elizabeth expressed.

“When she was younger, she loved going to my office and hanging out with ‘my other kids.’ Now that she is older, my daughter is involved in her church youth group, where they do various service learning projects throughout the city. Just recently, she was awarded the Service Award at her eighth-grade promotion.”

建立新的可能性网络

One night, Liz attended an event hosted by her former COMPASS coworker, 伊朗已满, for his new non-profit, 康涅狄格和平中心. While networking around the room, Liz spoke to 马特·康奈尔博士, 皇冠app’s 工商管理 program director.

“I was blown away by Liz’s compassion and what she had created at 15,” Dr. Connell acknowledged.

“She’s just one of those people who can walk into a room and, in an authentic way, figure out how to come to peoples’ levels. So, Goodwin’s Master’s in Organizational Leadership (MSOL) program seemed like a natural fit for her.”

Dr. Connell told Elizabeth that he wanted to connect her with 桑迪·科因-吉尔伯特医生, Goodwin’s MSOL program director. 听到伊丽莎白故事的片段后，桑迪当晚联系了她。

“Sandi is one of the most dynamic women I’ve ever met,” Elizabeth insisted.

“When she spoke to me, I felt like nothing else was on her mind except the conversation at hand. The moment I met her, I knew that Goodwin was the place for me.”

有兴趣了解更多关于伊丽莎白的领导教育吗？  Read about Liz的MSOL经验!