|
Advocacy Personnel
Elizabeth Garcia – Director of
Advocacy
Elizabeth Garcia received her Bachelors
in Psychology from the University of
Pennsylvania. Elizabeth began her work
with Covenant House New York (CHNY) in
August of 2002, as a Resident Advisor in
their Rights of Passage Program (ROP).
As a Resident Advisor, Elizabeth worked
with 18 to 21 year old homeless
adolescents teaching them life skills,
and helping them achieve their goals
toward self-sufficiency and
independence.
In July 2003, Elizabeth was accepted
into CHNY’s COII program, a management
training program for young
professionals. This program gives young
social service workers the opportunity
to manage various departments within the
agency, while being trained on a weekly
basis by top managers including
directors, the associate executive
director, and the executive director of
the agency. The main criteria for
participation in the program is a desire
to pursue a master’s degree, and as a
result Elizabeth was able to obtain her
Masters in Social Work from New York
University.
Through her participation in the COII
program, Elizabeth had the opportunity
to manage seven different departments
within CHNY within a three year span.
She began her managerial training
running the Mentor Program of ROP, and
was soon assigned the Volunteer
Department as well. She then moved to
the Crisis Center and was put in charge
of the Older Males Unit. Next, Elizabeth
was given the task of helping
reinvigorate an earned income project
called Ezekiel’s Café. She then spent a
year working directly with CHNY’s
Executive Director, Mr. Bruce J. Henry,
as his Executive Assistant. Her last six
months as a COII were spent
strengthening the Queens Community
Resource Center, and serving as Deputy
Director of the Mother/Child Crisis
Center. Upon completion of her Masters
program, Elizabeth was promoted to
Director of the Advocacy Department.
Elizabeth has chosen work in the social
services field as her life long career
goal and strives to make a difference in
the lives of the youth who come to CHNY
on a daily basis. Within the next year,
she hopes to develop the Advocacy
Department of CHNY into a strong force
and voice for homeless, runaway, and at
risk youth. Her desire to learn every
facet of a nonprofit organization, from
fundraising and administration to
hands-on programmatic work, in addition
to her dedication to New York City young
adults makes her a strong leader in this
field.
|
