The Ferguson Library's Elizabeth Joseph Receives Prestigious Award

Elizabeth Joseph, Associate Director of Community Engagement at the Ferguson Library, was named a recipient of Everyday Democracy's Civic Leadership Award. Elizabeth was recognized for her efforts to "shine a light on how vibrant public spaces are fundamental to civic life" by bringing together public officials, organizations and community members to discuss social issues that affect the Stamford community and develop plans of action to address them.

In the fall of 2018, this work took the form of a series of dialogues entitled “Facing Racism in Stamford” using a modified version of Everyday Democracy’s Facing Racism in a Diverse Nation dialogue guide that brought nearly 100 community members together. This culminated in an Action Forum where five teams led projects focused on such issue areas as education, leadership development, criminal justice, housing, and racial equity and healing. The work of the action teams has continued to evolve and expand since then.

Everyday Democracy is a Connecticut-based nonprofit that supports organizing across the country by bringing groups of people together, helping them structure and facilitate community dialogue on pressing issues, and training them to use a racial equity lens to understand longstanding problems and possible solutions.