Betsy Renzo

It is my job to talk about all that we do. From top to bottom in a holistic way, so that we get people to see that our educational model is a good one and support us. Maybe they'll want to replicate it in other places, and bring in funds so that we can continue to do the work that we do. So I am sort of our mouthpiece and external communicator. Because of this,  my daily tasks are really variable. You never know what potential collaborators may walk through our door. 

The responsibility is a privilege. I'm in this position where I have run student programs in the building. I know a lot about every service that we provide. I'm so privileged to be able to show people who have resources, where their resources could really make a difference in our community. Connecting with people and learning about people, that's an interest of mine. I like people a lot. So I would say communication and relationship building I hold dear. Every day one of the students that was in my pod will run up to me and give me a hug. It's the best. It's amazing. When you give kids the attention and love they deserve, they really remember it and give it right back. There is nothing better than that.

Before I became a teacher, I was a lawyer, I did public defense in Philadelphia. I really feel strongly about the way that we prosecute juveniles in the criminal justice system because kids are still growing and thinking and evolving. The prosecution process can be unforgiving, to say the least. The court would not interview the kids, nobody tried to figure out what was going on in their lives. They were just immediately prosecuted. So I made this argument that that was unconstitutional, according to the cruel and unusual punishment clause. And then, like three years later, that was cited in a Supreme Court case! 

Dancing and traveling makes me really happy. I am a Zumba instructor at the Y.  No matter how tired you are, or how stressed you are, when we finish we are all smiling and laughing. It's just so transformative in a uniquely positive way. I have traveled pretty much everywhere outside of Antarctica. I lived on an island called Palau for a year in the South Pacific. That was the best year of my life. It was so cool. I was 26. They needed lawyers from the United States to come over and work for their Supreme Court. It's an archipelago. So there are 16 inhabited islands and then about 500 uninhabited islands.  Every weekend we would sail or kayak to one of these deserted islands and we would camp and spearfish. It was amazing.

There are really amazing humans in this building. Everyone is here because we care about kids in the city. From the people serving food, making food to the people who are cleaning. Every person in this building, every adult in this building, is having these meaningful interactions with our students and play a role in pointing them in the right direction. It's a really cool place. True passion can do incredible things. 

Interview by Cole Armour and Peter Jack Denesowicz, spring 2023