Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 25, 1992 TAG: 9201250062
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS-BANKS
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
LEADER OF THE VISION
The community is going to be richer, say members of the Council for Community Enrichment.Liz Altieri, 37, has been chosen from more than 20 applicants to be the organization's executive director - its first paid one, to assume administrative responsibilities on Feb. 1.
The New York native has been a volunteer with the council since she moved to Radford in 1990. Her initial project was to organize host families for children from Russia's Pereslavl Music School who visited and performed in the New River Valley last November.
Dana Gregory, president of the council's board of directors, said the decision was made in November to employ a director.
"Our requests for programs and the existing programs for children have grown so much since opening the Council for Community Enrichment Center last April, we knew we needed one central person to coordinate these programs and oversee planning and management," she said.
The center, at 1115 Norwood St., is used for children's classes and workshops, performances and council meetings. Plans are under way to add a discovery museum where children may participate in hands-on activities directly related to arts, science and the humanities.
"Our next vision is for the center," Gregory said. "We feel it will be a real resource for the people in the area and for the educational system. It will be an important place for discovery learning."
Gregory and other board members think Altieri's leadership will help make that vision a reality.
Her responsibilities will include administration of staff and programs, developing budget policies and cultivating fund-raising projects, including grant writing.
"In these difficult financial times," Altieri said, "one of my goals will be to increase financial support for CCE."
The organization is supported by corporate and private contributions, as well as supplemental funds from the city of Radford and some grants from the Virginia Commission of the Arts.
"We have some revenues from the classes we offer, but we try to keep the fees as low as possible because we want the classes to be for everyone," Gregory said. "Higher class fees can prohibit some members of the community from choosing to participate."
One of her main goals as director, Altieri said, is to make programs accessible to everyone in the community.
"I would like to see two major things happen," she said. "It's important to increase participation of a wide range of community members in our programs. For instance, I would like to use the skills and talents of some of our older citizens.
"Also," she said, "I would like to see programs expanded to include people with disabilities and others who need access to the programs.
"Primarily, this has been a volunteer organization that has done tremendous things for the community. I'm very excited about becoming a part of that. I want to continue the programs and look forward to providing direction in the CCE for new growth."
Altieri, who grew up in southern Florida, did her undergraduate work in special education at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and earned her master's degree in special education from George Peabody College in Nashville, Tenn.
"I've taught children of all ages," she said. "I've also worked with families to teach them to use services available in the community and how to advocate for new services that are needed."
In addition, Altieri said, she has seven years of administrative experience working for an agency in Syracuse, N.Y., that served people with developmental disabilities.
Gregory said it was Altieri's administrative skills that attracted members of the board of directors.
"We're very fortunate to have someone with Liz's experience and skills," she said. "This will help make us more efficient in reaching our goals."
"I'm a person who's always been in active learning," Altieri said. "I've typically worked full time in the past."
Altieri will work for the council part time. In her spare time, she is helping her husband, Radford University professor Robert Hiltonsmith, restore an older home they bought recently. She also plans to restore the perennial gardens around the house.
She is vice president of McHarg Elementary School's Parent-Teacher Association and will be its president next year. Her 7-year-old son, Ben, is a pupil there. Her 10-year-old son, Robbie, attends Belle Heth Elementary School.
In addition to volunteering as a Cub Scout den leader, Altieri said she has another responsibility that requires some of her attention:
"I also walk my extremely large dog," she said. "We have a Scottish deerhound named Alaric."