
CHIEDZA RODRIGUEZ
FIELD BUILDING FELLOW
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Chiedza’s passion for social justice and youth leadership permeates all she does. She is currently engaged with PFF as a Field Building Fellow for PFF’s Building Leadership and Organizing Capacity (BLOC) initiative. As a Fellow, Chiedza anchors a co-design team of BLOC alumni to develop and implement the BLOC initiative, provides technical assistance to BLOC grantees, and helps to build bridges with other efforts that aim to strengthen the youth-led change and organizing infrastructure across CT.
A seasoned facilitator, Chiedza has 18 years of experience working in the youth development field, seven of which focused on training Hartford youth to conduct Participatory Action Research projects. During her tenure as the Training and Capacity Building Coordinator for the City of Hartford Office for Youth Services, Chiedza facilitated the city’s youth commission and managed the city’s Youth development Practitioners Academy and Middle Management Institute.
She is an Adjunct Professor at Capital Community College where she teaches a psychology course on group dynamics, and where she worked as part of a team to design the curriculum for the Community Change Studies degree program.
Chiedza holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work and a Master’s Degree in Human Services, specializing in Organizational Management and Leadership. In her quest to continue to add skill sets to her arsenal to serve our communities, Chiedza is currently undertaking a JD at Western New England University School of Law as a part time night student.
Chiedza’s interests revolve around combatting oppression and injustice wherever it rears its ugly head, with a special focus on its impact on our most vulnerable communities and youth. You will usually find her with a big smile and singing up a storm in between deep conversations about injustice and how to envision a new, just reality.