Between her full-time job as chief of staff for Children’s Village (CV) in Dobbs Ferry, volunteering with her therapy dog at local libraries, mentoring teens, running marathons, and blogging for the Huffington Post, Lia Taylor Schwartz wears many hats. In her role at CV, she is responsible for overseeing agency-wide projects and strategic initiatives for the 1,000-employee charity, which helps 10,000 children and families in the New York-Metropolitan area in obtaining education, jobs, and life skills. Thanks to her digital- and social-media skills, along with her efforts to keep CV “in the forefront of significant issues in child welfare and juvenile justice,” she was named a 2015 “40 Under 40 Rising Star” by New York Nonprofit Media. Her work for CV has brought her all over the world; last year, she traveled to Dubai and Baghdad at the invitation of the Iraqi government, to serve as a liaison to the Iraqi Children Foundation. “The stories and faces of children, families, colleagues, and neighbors are what make me want to get out of bed every morning and do my absolute best,” she says.
Wunderfacts:
• Lia and her therapy dog, Pauly, regularly volunteer at the Dobbs Ferry Library, work with the children’s program at the Ossining Library helping kids with homework, and bring smiles to families at the Ronald McDonald House in Valhalla.
• Schwartz has a Master’s in Public Health degree in Social Science Research from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Anthropology from George Washington University.
• As an undergrad, Schwartz received a grant to study in South Africa, where she rescued, rehabilitated, and studied the behavior of orphaned baboons.
