Whether it was her status as eldest child of immigrant parents, her Brooklyn birthplace, or her religious values, Caroline Pezzullo identified her calling at an early age – to live in service to social justice with particular regard for empowering grass roots women.
Assuming the role of breadwinner for her family immediately upon graduation from high school, she joined the Young Christian Workers (YCW) and quickly became its national organizer and then president of women workers. YCW's methodology of achieving social justice through workplace transformation provided a guide for future organizing: "Observe, Judge, Act – Observe the work environment, Judge how it ought to be in terms of Christian principles, Act to make that vision a reality."
This period was when she was 18 years and up.
From its Chicago headquarters, Caroline set about building the lay Catholic movement in the U.S. and Latin America. YCW's global concerns led Carline and others to found the Commission for International Development, a service organization involved in inter-country technical exchanges. She became its Executive Director and representative to the UN for four years, where she contributed creative and critical ideas (DK: can someone give an example?) about global progress and gospel values.
An astute business woman, she found ways to merge her concern for human development and her knowledge of the workplace. She was Executive Vice President of Humanic Designs Corporation, a consulting practice that specialized in designing systems to enhance and upgrade employment skills. She also served as Vice President of Information Science, Inc, engaged in the computerization of personnel systems. In 1975 she established her own business, Caroline Pezzullo Associates, serving universities, trade associations and UN organizations based in the US and Latin America. (DK? Does anyone know the exact work that CPA did?---she made a leather brief case.
1982---she became active with the National Congress of Neighborhood Women---got involved with grassroots women's organizations across the US, worked on the annual Institutes on Women and Community Development. She led an effort in the 90's to develop a Living Learning Center in NY. She helped bridge the work NW did in the US with the international.
Caroline Pezzullo was active with the UN from 1975 on---worked with UNIFEM, UNHABITAT headed up the women and Development section of the 1985 NGO Forum on Women: Equality, Development and Peace.
Inspired by the 1985 Nairobi World Conference to Review and Appraise the Activities of the UN Decade for Women where it was quite clear that once again grassroots women's and their organization were left out---, Caroline joined with others to help build Grass Roots Organizations Operating Together in Sisterhood (GROOTS), which is now a network of autonomous, grassroots women's organizations in over 40 countries around the globe. Organizations within the network train and empower women to become active in areas such as credit and asset creating, small business development, sustainable agriculture, food processing, housing, education and health. aids, natural disasterShe facilitated GROOTS from 1988 until 1996.
Worked as a consultant to UNHABITAT where she worked with women around the world to develop the Women and Habitat Program which supported women in human settlements and strengthened the position of women and their priorities at UNHABITAT.
Caroline, a visionary builder of coalitions, linked GROOTS to a collage of NGOs working on gender issues in the area of human settlements- then worked with Jan Peterson to develp the Huairou Commission---a coalition of networks of women working on human settlement issues.
In 2000, declaring the theme of World Habitat Day as "Women in Urban Governance," in recognition of the vital role women play in developing, managing and sustaining neighborhoods, towns and cities. Habitat's campaigns for Secure Tenure and Good Urban Governance were committed to changing the circumstances of women in poor urban areas and prioritizing the needs of women and their participation in urban governance. It was a fitting in that year the Habitat Scroll of Honour was awarded to Ms. Caroline Pezzullo, U.S.A., for her work in nurturing the development of global networks of community based women's groups, and bringing their voices into the policy debate.
One of Caroline's dreams was to establish living and learning centers where people of all ages and ethnicities would be able to come together to foster a community of common interests and concerns. Today vibrant centers in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, St. Louis, Missouri and Appalachia (city, state) form part of the legacy of Caroline Pezzullo's life. They, like her, nurture the best of the human spirit in service to social justice and recognition of the wisdom, gifts and skills of grass roots women.
Thank you, Caroline. We miss you.