I have to tell you, it's been an incredible honor, working at the Boys and Girls Club of Worcester, because I feel like this organization has done so much for so many years. We are 133 years old so way before I was ever involved, it was doing great work and I believe it's continuing to do great work. And what I like about Boys and Girls Clubs in general is they meet the needs of the community they serve. So, there's I think 4000, over 4000 Boys and Girls Clubs in the US. If you've been to one Boys and Girls Club, you've only been to one Boys and Girls Club. Every Boys and Girls Club is going be different. And I love that I feel like our clubs in Great Brook Valley, Palmer Village, and in the Main South area, truly represent our kids and our community. And I'm really proud of the incredibly talented and diverse team members that do so much incredible work with our kids and families. But I also want to acknowledge how great our kids are. Unlike regular childcare, our kids decide every day to walk here to get here. So, they're making really good choices and they're showing great leadership. And I'm proud of the work that they're doing. We're providing some resources and support but ultimately, it's up to the kids and it's always a real privilege to see them when they first start with us they’re age five and then graduate from high school and then go on to college and just see their transformation in their growth and everything that they've done for themselves. It's, it's amazing.
Elizabeth Hamilton was born in 1968 in Hackensack, New Jersey. When she was the age of six, she moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma with her parents, brother and sister until the age of 18. Elizabeth went to college at Regis University in Denver, Colorado, and then earned her master’s degree in social work at Boston University. Between her undergraduate and graduate study, she served two years of Jesuit Volunteer Corps, one in Great Falls, Montana, and then another in Worcester, Massachusetts, which is how she became familiar with Worcester. Elizabeth is married to Matthew and has two daughters. In this interview Elizabeth discusses what it was like growing up in Tulsa and how her religion impacted her life there. She discusses her mentors, such as her mother, her views of Worcester, and her experiences of being a woman. Elizabeth highlights her involvement within Worcester, whether in the Worcester Together group or her role as Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club in Worcester where she is the first woman to lead that nonprofit organization. She also touches on her marriage and relationship with her husband and raising their children. Worcester Business Journal named her an Outstanding Woman in Business in 2020 and one of the Power 50 in 2021.