“When women wake, mountains move,” is one of Elizabeth Dozier’s favorite quotes. Dozier, Chicago Women in Philanthropy’s Making a Difference honoree, cited that quote during her keynote speech at CWIP’s Annual Luncheon on March 2.
Dozier is managing director of Chicago Beyond, a privately held organization that seeks to create opportunity and access for Chicago’s young people. The group invests in and analyzes ideas and programs to address youth violence and educational attainment.
Dozier is a former Fenger Academy High School Principal who was featured on the 2014 CNN documentary series “Chicagoland.” She told the story of a student who was shot in the head during her time at Fenger. From that experience, she learned “to realize that every moment is precious, we never know when people will be there and when they won’t…Treat people with dignity, humanity, decency, even when it is hard.”
She said Chicago Beyond is particularly interested in organizations that “are getting to the very core of what we are trying to disrupt.” The CWIP luncheon featured a performance by Changing Voices, a program that serves court-involved juveniles and young adults. In 2016, Changing Voices was one of three winners in Chicago Beyond’s first-ever innovation challenge.
Dozier urged her listeners to “look more to see the potential in those who exist on the perimeters of Chicago. How are we building bridges and throwing down ropes?” She urged the audience to “see people not as caterpillars but as butterflies. It is incumbent that we unleash that ability within ourselves.”
“Our collective liberation is bound together one to another,” Dozier said. “We are all connected. You can believe you can’t change the things you don’t like, but the day you see that for a lie is the day your world opens up.”
The luncheon also featured remarks by Lindrea Reynolds, mentee participant in CWIP’s Women’s Leadership Mentoring Program and marketing manager for After School Matters, and Sandra Abrevaya, president and chief impact officer at Thrive Chicago, a citywide collective impact initiative.
