Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been – Celena Roldan Moreno

I suppose I could introduce you to Celena without talking about myself, but I don’t want to. I met Celena on a soccer field behind Percy Julian Junior High during lunch break. I was talking to Chris York, a kid I’ve known since I was six, when Celena walked up to us and said, “Hey.”

Junior High is a strange and lonely time, and I’d sort of settled into that loneliness. I don’t remember being terribly sad about this, but I can still feel a dull pinch from those days of not knowing where I fit in, why I didn’t fit in, and when it would be I wouldn’t feel this way anymore. Celena had transferred from Emerson to Julian, and the reasons she transferred is her story to share, but I bring it up because while I’m thankful she came to Julian, the move she made points to her bravery and faith that when something isn’t working, she will try something else until she finds what does work. The day Celena and I met, there wasn’t a hint of desperation in her voice; no sign of insecurity. Just a fantastic smile, and a friendly, hilarious girl looking around at her world to see what will work.

Celena and I worked. We were all the cliches you can come up with when you think about best friends: two peas in a pod, partners in crime. Celena sees the world through a lens that notes the strangeness and the loneliness in the world, but does not settle on it. She works with it, shines a light on it, and somehow makes it beautiful.

That’s a little on where Celena comes from, but here is a bit on what she’s doing and where she’s going.

1. Can you talk a little about what you do, how your career evolved, etc.?

As is the case with many children and young people, I always remember wanting to do something that would help people. I think I originally wanted to be a teacher but ended up pursuing social work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison was also not just any social work program but a university with a strong history of social justice and involvement in the women’s rights movement and the anti-war protests of the 60’s and 70’s. I was able to gain a knowledge base that helped me understand that helping people involved not just wanting to help them but knowing a community and empowering people to use their own voice, skills, and talents to change their own lives and communities for the better. Having two parents also in the field of helping others was also definitely a motivator both consciously and subconsciously I am sure. After leaving UW, I started at a transitional housing program in Chicago before accepting a position at Erie House as the preschool social worker. Looking back now, I know that I am able to speak more directly about our children and families because I had an opportunity to work with them directly. I sat across from the single mother that was going to school and working full time and counted on the child care that Erie House provided. I got to meet the man that became a United States citizen through Erie House and was able to start his own business and provide for his family. This gives you an important perspective when your nonprofit career becomes more administrative and focused on fundraising and policy initiatives. You need to continue to remember who the policies are impacting.

2. You have recently been appointed a board member on The NCLR (National Council of La Raza), and Mayor Rahm Emanuel nominated you as a member of the Community Development Commission. Can you tell us a little about both of these appointments, and how they will affect the work you are doing?

It was very exciting to be appointed by Mayor Emanuel to sit on the Community Development Commission. This commission reviews and recommends the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds to the Chicago City Council. This commission is directly involved in the economic development of the city of Chicago and evaluating areas to be redeveloped and also determine when TIF financing could and should be used to assist in private redevelopment projects. I believe I will learn a tremendous amount about economic development in addition to learning more about all the neighborhoods in Chicago, their strengths and needs for growth and stability. This appointment is also important because as a Latina there is still a great deal to be done in the Chicago with the lack of Latinos in the highest levels of city administration, boards, and commissions. I hope to be able to provide a thoughtful, diverse, and strong voice from a community perspective. The National Council of LaRaza is the largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. Erie House has been a NCLR affiliate for many years and this board appointment will allow me to continue our advocacy and policy partnership on a national level. Latinos are now the largest minority group in the United States, representing over 16% of the U.S. workforce. Latinos are the largest ethnic and racial group in Chicago Public Schools and are 1 in 4 in schools throughout Illinois. But we are dramatically underrepresented in high positions in business, government, and politics. NCLR is the voice and platform in the fight for equal rights, access, and representation for all Latinos.

 

3. Besides your work, you are a mother and a wife. I remember once about five years ago, I sent you a frantic message telling you that I was on my way to a writing class I’d just signed up for, and it was in the MORNING so I had to get a BABYSITTER and on my way to the class I saw a FIRETRUCK WITH ITS LIGHTS ON, and OH MY GOSH I’M TURNING AROUND BECAUSE I JUST KNOW IT’S HEADED FOR MY HOUSE HOW COULD I BE SO SELFISH AND LEAVE MY GIRLS?!?! You wrote back and said, “Calm down and breath. And because it’s you, take another breath.” I remember you saying what I am doing is not only OK, but it’s good I’m doing it. You gave sort of a, “it takes a village” talk to me that helped. I was thinking about that conversation early in July during the walk-out Erie had. This last year has been my first year back at work after having kids, and one of the many blessings I experienced were the number of creative, talented professionals who helped me be a mother AND be a teacher. I am not making a case for a mother to work outside of the home if she doesn’t want or need to. However, a thirty second glance of your Executive Director on the Erie Neighborhood House homepage, and one cannot argue that you help women figure out what they’re good at and get them where they need to go to use their talents for the city of Chicago. Not only that, you provide a space for their children to learn and be nurtured while the mothers work. We all want to make a financial contribution to our families, but Erie helps both women and children see themselves differently, and I think that’s why I was particularly upset that funds were taken away. Can you talk a little about your experience becoming/being a mother and how work came into play?

 My first thought in reading this is that regardless of all the good work that I get to be a part of, I don’t feel any less guilty when Joseph says to me “Mom, can you get off your phone!?” However, for the first 8 years of Joseph’s life I was a single mom and so there was not choice about whether or not I was going to work full time and therefore some of the guilt that women in two parent households encounter was not necessarily at play. From very early on, I have been able to say to Joseph that in order for us to have a home, a car, or for me to buy him new soccer cleats every 20 minutes because his feet keep growing, I have to work! Now, I am getting to see that he is also benefiting from seeing the type of work that I do. I took him this year to do voter registration with me and he stood in the cold for over two hours and got 3 people to register to vote. He could not believe how many people walked by and ignored him which made getting just those 3 voters even more worthwhile. He sees me in the office but also at protests and my hope is that as he gets older he may remember that I was often busy or working but he will know that it was for something very worthwhile.

4. I’ve known you for almost thirty years now, and I can’t remember a time when either of us said, “When I grow up, I want to be ________.” (Maybe you told me, and I wasn’t listening because I was too concerned with the boy with the spiky hair. Sorry about that.) However, one thing I do think about is that neither of us ever seemed to be too concerned about failure. Speaking selfishly, thinking about my friendship with you, I realize how much trust and belief in myself I had when I was around you. I sort of muster that trust up from years ago when I’m doing things I don’t think I can do. I’m wondering if you can address what role failure and trust play in your day-to-day life.

My biggest fear is failing Erie, mostly not doing everything I possibly can to protect my staff, the organization, and most important the children and families we serve. In my professional role some of my most significant failures have been the ones that I have learned the most about both professionally and personally. Sometimes when things go really wrong or the risk you took completely backfires, you can be surprised by your ability to pick yourself back up and possibly stand alone through a period of time or think creatively for a new solution or plan. Unfortunately a lot of my job and role involves politics and individuals that can often have racist or discriminatory beliefs or thinking or have their own personal agendas and interests leading their focus in life and work. Therefore I don’t usually operate in a space of trust as much as I do in working based on my values and convictions and influencing others to do what is right for communities in need regardless if I trust what they say or do. When you cannot trust or there is a lack of trust in your work or life, it can be very depleting and so it is critical to have at least some individuals that you can put your trust in and that can help replenish your spirit. I am very grateful for my family, close colleagues that I trust and rely on to keep going.

5. What advice would you give to people who are interested in doing what you’re doing?

So what would I tell someone going into Human Services in Illinois? I would probably say “Move to another state or Drink heavily!” But seriously, I get asked this question a lot and regardless of the disregard and attempted dismantling of human services that is happening before my eyes and unconscionable way that the poor and vulnerable are being cut off by our state, I still can’t bring myself to tell young people to forget social work and go into accounting. Everyday I am still so grateful to work at Erie House with some of the hardest working, most compassionate people I have every known. To have learned, laughed, and cried with some of the greatest community organizers and community developers in Chicago. And to know that I have made a difference to at least one child, one father, one mother, or one family. I will say that you have to want to do this work with your heart, mind, and soul. It is not work for the timid or uncertain. Leadership is easy when you have 50 people standing behind you but real leadership is when you stand up and look behind you and you are alone. But I know that I am in the middle of doing the most rewarding and significant work I will do in my life.

6. Last month, my friend Cara ended her interview by telling people that if they can’t do anything, they can always read because it will make them feel less alone. What book or books would you suggest to “Notes from Callie” readers that had an impact on you? They can be fiction or non-fiction.

I have always loved reading and while there are some really important books out there right now related to my work such as How Children Succeed by Paul Tough, I really love being able to escape from my daily life with non-fiction like The Secret Life or Bees which is one of my favorite books of all time, The Help and I am always looking to relax and decompress with great young adult reading like Looking for Alaska or what I just finished reading, Eleanor and Park, because my best friend Callie recommended it.

Thank you, Celena! It is a pleasure to know you and to have grown up with you!