ELIZABETH CARDONA:

A FEARLESS FIGHTER FOR THE PEOPLE

By Marjorie J. Hurst

I first met Elizabeth Cardona in 1999 when she was employed by the Springfield School System as an ESL (English as a Second Language) long-term substitute teacher at DeBerry Elementary School. She was doing a unit on careers and asked me to come to speak to her class about being a Black, female lawyer. I remember being impressed with how attentive and interested the class was in what I had to say and how they asked really good, thoughtful questions. I was also a member of the school committee and several of the students took down my telephone number so they could call me with their issues. When I finished talking to the class, I remember Elizabeth walking me out of the building, thanking me profusely and passionately trying to get me involved in something she was doing for the good of the community. I put her off with a “maybe I’ll consider it if I get some time” kind of response to which she smilingly said, “Okay, I know how busy you are.” And although I had no intention of taking on another commitment at that time, I had an eerie feeling that Elizabeth and I would meet again because somehow I knew that in that short time we had connected.

Sure enough, two years later we did meet again. In the late summer of 2001, I was looking for a Hispanic coordinator for a faith-based MCAS tutoring program that I was running and I called then mayoral aide, Carlos Gonzalez, to see if he could recommend someone. He said he would get back to me and when he did he had two recommendations. As he began describing the qualifications of the first person, whom he highly recommended, it was as if a light went on and I began to wonder if she was the person whose class I had visited. I remember getting so excited when Carlos confirmed that the person he was describing was, in fact, Elizabeth. He started to tell me about the second person and I told him it wasn’t necessary because I already knew I wanted Elizabeth for the position.

So, for the next two years, Elizabeth brought her considerable energy, talent and passion to my program displaying the same dedication and commitment that she has come to be known for, and continued right where she had left off two years prior trying to get me involved in much more than I was willing or able to take on. And although I knew how to say, “no,” Elizabeth did not; so when Point of View was getting started and we asked her if she would take on the responsibility of writing a column called “A Latino Perspective,” she willingly agreed even though her plate was already full with family responsibilities, college courses, and, of course, community and political activities.

As I got to know Elizabeth, I marveled at her straight forwardness and keen sense of fair play. It also became clear that this soft-spoken, little woman (5 feet tall, maybe 100 lbs.) is a dynamo who is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in no matter who is involved. I will never forget the time when the New North Citizen’s Council was holding an election for board members and there were some rumors of the alleged possibility of votes not being counted accurately so Elizabeth recruited me and several other elected officials to serve as election monitors and we showed up unannounced. There was a little initial, noticeable tension but everything worked out and when the last vote was counted and recorded, I left proud to have had the opportunity to lend my support to Elizabeth.

We became family – Elizabeth, her two sons, Jacob and Jonah, and Rick and I. Through the years, she has kept us connected to the Hispanic community and we would like to think that in a small way, we have contributed a little to her growth. (She says we have in a beautiful note that she sent us recently.) We’ve shared some memorable times, like her getting Rick out on the dance floor and teaching him the salsa, celebrating her birthday with a bottle of champagne, sharing meals at her house and ours and at I.E.S. (my program), keeping track of how the boys are doing, worrying when she went to Egypt this past summer, sharing her frustrations and her joys, and, overall, being so proud of what makes her the person she is -- her love of her community, her civic and political activism, her dedication to her family and friends, and, above all, her fearlessness in standing up for what she believes.

So we could not contain our excitement when she told us that she had been appointed to serve as Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s director of his western Massachusetts office! We were happy for her because the appointment represents a natural progression into a position that will allow her to utilize her considerable organizing skills and indulge her strong passion for helping people on a larger level. We were happy for Governor Patrick because we know he has made an excellent choice. We were happy for the minority community because Elizabeth is truly a person of the people. And we were happy for western Massachusetts because we are finally going to be visible.

In the midst of all this happiness, I began to wonder exactly what got Elizabeth started down this path of activism in the first place. What had been her motivation? When and how did it all begin? Was there a defining moment? What caused her to become so ferocious in her fight for equality? What experiences did she have that caused her to “believe that through education individuals can rise from the adversities associated with poverty to become self-reliant, change agents of their lives, immediate communities and society?”

Those questions were foremost on my mind as I sat down in the Governor’s western office to interview her. And this is what I learned.

Elizabeth got her start in community activism at the ripe age of nine when she participated in a march in the North End, a predominantly Hispanic area of Springfield, organized by the Spanish American Union to advocate for an extension of food stamp benefits to people in need in the community. Her inspiration at that time was Jaime Ulloa, an Ecuadorian who was the executive director of the Spanish American Union. Elizabeth’s aunt worked there and she and her sister used to go often to hear Mr. Ulloa speak of how he overcame obstacles and challenges in his life. Mr. Ulloa became a paraplegic at the age of 25. He went on to obtain a degree in Human Services and spent his life doing good and helping others. His determination and advocacy skills hit a cord with young Elizabeth. She remembers begging her mother to let her participate in the march. Other kids asked her if she was embarrassed to be marching for food stamps and she told them no. To the contrary, she said she felt empowered, even at that young age, to be able to have a voice. The march was followed up with a trip to the state house in Boston where Elizabeth marveled both at the beauty of the building and the fact that they were able to speak out on issues of importance and to show that they were just like everyone else. Elizabeth says that she will be ever grateful to Mr. Ulloa for helping her to believe in herself.

Another defining moment that propelled Elizabeth toward community activism was witnessing the Puerto Rican riots in the 1970’s and living through discrimination in education, housing and job opportunities. Not being one to bury her head in the sand, Elizabeth comes by her strength and concern for others naturally. One of three children raised by a single parent mother who herself was one of 17 children, Elizabeth had strong female role models in her mother and grandmother and aunts. Although her mother died young, Elizabeth knows that her blessings have come from mother’s unending prayers.

Besides spending most of her life being honed on community activism, Elizabeth has also been well prepared to lead. Beginning in the sixth grade when she ran for student government representative, continuing to the ninth grade when she was elected class president, then on to high school where she served as president of the Spanish Club, recently graduating from Western New England College’s famed Leadership Institute, plus serving on the boards of Early Childhood of Greater Springfield, New North Citizen’s Council and ¿Oiste?, a Massachusetts Latino advocacy organization, and being the 2006 Ward 1 chair for Deval Patrick for Governor are all testimonies to the fact that this lady not only knows her stuff, she can back it up, too.

There’s another part of Elizabeth that needs to be uncovered. When you talk to her, you get a sense that she has a much broader perspective than you are used to finding here. And if you take time to delve deeper in conversation with her, you learn that she has a worldview, a global mentality, which comes from having been exposed to other cultures as a result of the almost two years when she lived in the Middle East where she learned Arabic and, of course, was involved in women’s causes. So her view is not a narrow nor limited one, but wide, expansive and inclusive.

My last question was how does she manage to do all that she does? She said quite candidly it is because of the great support system of her family. They are proud of what she is involved in and they are always there to make sure she and the boys are well taken care of – from making them home cooked meals, to picking up and dropping off the boys whenever necessary, to providing her with encouragement and continuous support.

In conclusion, Elizabeth said that at one point in her life, she asked herself, “Is this all I am going to be?” That question came well before she was encouraged to go back to school and finish college by DeBerry’s then principal, Barbara Jefferson, and science teacher, Mrs. Moriarty, before community and political activism became her permanent way of life, and before family members, friends, politicians and well-wishers gathered to wish her well in her new position at a reception held for her by The Latino Breakfast Club. And judging from the overwhelming turnout and congratulations that abounded that night, the resounding answer is “No, Elizabeth, that is not all that you are going to be.” To paraphrase Oprah Winfrey, “Your future is so bright, it hurts the eyes!” n