On Wednesdays We STILL Wear Red: Introducing Perth Amboy’s Newest Cohort of Emerging Leaders

On October 11, 14 young adults were inducted as Perth Amboy’s second class ofEmerging Civic Leaders for a Heathier Community at the Brighton Avenue Community Center. Cecilia Gonzalez, Program Coordinator, and Ana Abreu-Estevez and Tobi Raji, AmeriCorps Coaches, led the ceremony. Each advisor warmly welcomed the newest team, referencing the successes of the last team while speaking of their hopes for the new cohort. Assisting the advisors are Melissa Madrid and Janelle Sonsiadek,exemplary members of the 2017 – 2018 Emerging Leaders team. Throughout this year, Melissa and Janelle will mentor this new group  of youth as they develop and implement their action plan to improve health in Perth Amboy. During the induction event, Melissa and Janelle led the pledge and distributed certificates. Alexandra Mansonet-Cross, Jewish Renaissance Foundation (JRF) CEO, welcomed the new team of youth and spoke of their importance to JRF’s mission and the Perth Amboy community.

By early November, the Emerging Leaders had already met for the third time to discuss their intended community action plan. To explore their diverse interests, the Emerging Leaders divided themselves into three groups based on their topics of interest. These topics included Mental Health, Drug Addiction, and Obesity, all within Perth Amboy’s teen population. Each group created a public service announcement (see below) or blog post about their topic of interest wherein they expressed its relevancy, particularly in Perth Amboy. Also during  this meeting, the Emerging Leaders welcomed their fifteenth and final member, Melissa Ruiz. Melissa recited the pledge in front of her fellow Emerging Leaders and received her certificate.

Watch one of the public service announcements the Emerging Leaders developed while exploring their diverse interests around community health.

Follow the Emerging Leaders on Instagram and track all of the Next Generation Community Leaders teams through the hashtag #NJLeaders2030.

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