With more than a million votes cast online, GW alumna Liz McCartney was officially named CNN’s “Hero of the Year” for her work helping Hurricane Katrina survivors rebuild their homes.
McCartney was among the top 10 vote-getters out of more than 3,700 nominations and was then chosen as the overall winner by a blue ribbon panel. The CNN Heroes award recognizes “ordinary people” who accomplish “extraordinary things.”
McCartney received a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the Graduate School of Education and Human Development in 2006. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, McCartney left her job as director of an education nonprofit and founded the St. Bernard Project with her boyfriend, Zachary Rosenberg. Since it was started in March 2006, several months after the hurricane, the organization has rebuilt 155 homes and is currently working on 34 more.
“You would think that after six months there would be all of this progress started, but that was not the case at all.” McCartney said. “The devastation was so extensive. St. Bernard’s Parish lost its infrastructure and sat underwater for two to four weeks.”
McCartney accepted the award during the taping of “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” which was broadcast Nov. 27 and hosted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper. McCartney received $100,000 to put toward more homes for the St. Bernard Project.
She credits GSEHD for helping her recognize her potential and learn how to work harder after her undergraduate years as a “slacker” at Boston College.
“Liz was the kind of person who followed her passion, and I am thrilled and so proud of her,” said Sylven Beck, McCartney’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development adviser.
At first McCartney and Rosenberg only had time on weekends to dedicate to the project, and they faced great challenges at the beginning.
“A lot of people told us we couldn’t and shouldn’t,” McCartney said. “You’re an educator and a lawyer. You don’t know anything about that community. You don’t know anything about construction, and we obviously didn’t listen to them.”
The organization focuses primarily on building houses for senior citizens and families with children. Clients sometimes help with the construction on their homes, but unlike the Habitat for Humanity model, which requires that the new homeowners participate in the project, there are homeowners who already worked hard to buy their homes and need a hand up, McCartney said.
The St. Bernard Project, however, continues to face the daily challenge of recruiting volunteers and securing funding.
“We work really hard every day to get every dollar and every volunteer through the door,” McCartney said.
The project has raised $4 million and recruited 9,500 volunteers in less than three years. The organization is hoping to open an office in New Orleans and expand the staff to manage more volunteers.
