Trudi Lebron

Trudi Lebron playing piano.

Trudi Lebron with students from Hartford Job Corps after training on personal exploration and leadership.

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Age: 34

Company: ScriptFlip! LLC; Billings Forge Community Works

Title: Founder; Associate Director of Community & Youth Programs

Town where I live: East Hartford

Town where I work: Hartford

College: Charter Oak State College (undergraduate), Walden University (graduate)

Q&A:

What do you do and what are your goals in your current job? I design research-based youth development and community programs, and train staff that work in these fields. My goal is to change the way we design youth programs so that they are more dynamic, more culturally relevant, and better grounded in social science.

What are your goals for your community involvement? My goal is to create opportunities for people in the community to realize their voice, power and passion. In the next year or two I hope that my business ScriptFlip! can establish a grant-making program for youth and artists to do community-action work.

What's your biggest passion? I love coaching and teaching because there is nothing like watching an 'ah-ha' moment come across someone's face as they realize something for the first time.

What are your future aspirations? My biggest goal for the future is to work with school systems to help establish more Positive Youth Development practice inside of schools. Currently, schools have youth programs, but schools need to be run within a Positive Youth Development framework.

How can Hartford become a more vibrant city? We need to strengthen our public schools. I feel strongly that there is a direct relationship between the status of our school system, and the vibrancy of our community. I think there are two Hartford's, the one where professionals 'live, work, and play,' and the one where youth are disengaged, underserved and looking for answers. I've lived in both. Hartford will become a more vibrant city when all stakeholders have a place to participate in Hartford's resources. Then it will be a place where people want to stay, raise a family and invest their time, energy and money in.

List four reasons why you deserve to be a 40 Under Forty:

Founded ScriptFlip! in 2013, a social enterprise designed to change social narratives about urban youth. We have clients in five states.

As a teen mom of two I had a 1 percent chance of getting a bachelor's degree before age 30. At 31, I was in a Ph.D. program and an assistant professor.

I ran a teen-mom program that I had been a client in 10 years earlier.

I'm a regularly requested speaker, advisor, presenter and panelist for community initiatives.

Time Tested:

What personal possession in your life has withstood the test of time? Childhood Judo Gi

What hobby did you develop at a young age that you still enjoy today? Singing

Twenty years ago, what did you envision as your future profession? Hip-hop artist

Who do you consider your mentor? Madeline Perez, Professor and Director of Latino Community Practice, University of St. Joseph

See the complete list of Forty Under 40 Winners for 2016!

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