Lisa Giordano

WHO: Lisa Giordano, Providence, R.I.

WHAT: Established the Willow Street Association, a community group focused on discussing local challenges and developing solutions together

HOW: Giordano moved into West Broadway, a multiracial, mixed-income neighborhood of Providence. As soon as she moved into the community, she started to observe such problems as litter, graffiti, drug dealing, and vandalism.

One day, Giordano decided to speak out to some local kids who kept jumping the fence in her backyard and trampling parts of her garden. She took the opportunity to discuss her values with the children and soon after began serving as a mentor, helping them develop a set of ground rules for behavior and working with them to improve the community through group efforts.

Years later, as many of the kids got older and moved away, Giordano set out to revive the spirit of community she had experienced with them, in a more long-lasting way. The Willow Street Association was designed to let the neighborhood identify shared concerns and work to solve problems together.

And, unlike the officially sanctioned local neighborhood association, Willow Street was created to give all participants an equal voice, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, income level, or educational background. The group collaborated on such efforts as youth outreach, local tree planting, and organized street cleaning.

Read more about Lisa Giordano's story and others like hers in The Next Form of Democracy by Matt Leighninger.

Note: Lisa Giordano is an alias for the real woman behind this great effort, as she did not want her name used in mass publication.