Amber found her calling in the Junior League working with the Junior League of Boston’s Kids in the Kitchen community project. She is this year’s Junior League of Greater New Haven League Development Chair and says that meeting the incredible women of JLGNH brings her joy. She keeps her Junior League responsibilities balanced with her job as a Development Manager at the Aurora Women and Girls Foundation by “leav[ing] a lot of sticky notes on my desk reminding me to check my League email!”

Ms. Anthony values the League for the many opportunities it provides for her to grow and give back to the community. She also appreciates the training it provides members as a professional in a nonprofit. Says Amber, “the League offers opportunities to see how nonprofits work in the communities we live…[and to] engage in leadership board training… [that can make] more woman nonprofit board members.”

Amber hopes her League Legacy will be, “that I showed up and gave my all.” We JLGNHers don’t see how anyone could possibly think otherwise of Ms. Anthony.

By: Allison Gallaspy

Since its founding in 1923, the Junior League of Greater New Haven has sought to effect positive change in the Greater New Haven community by promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and supporting the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. As the League prepares for its Centennial Anniversary, we celebrate our members and share their incredible stories, recognizing how each individual story makes up that of the League as a whole.

Ashley Ahearn

We’ll let Ashley Ahearn introduce herself. She says, “I’m a kombucha-drinking, mountain peak explorer, needlepoint loving, crazy cat & dog person who loves to travel the world.” Ashley is active, working 

movement into the beginning, middle, and end of her typical day. She also moves often around the country, helping franchise owners develop their sales staff in her career.

She’s inspired by the people she works with at her job, motivated by her family and her goals, and also by contributing to the League’s success. She, “want[s] more than anything for our League to succeed in every venture we do and that keeps me motivated to stay on track.”

Ashley joined the Junior League of Greater New Haven in 2018 because she, “wanted to to align [her]self with an organization that truly makes a difference to the population we serve.”

She also values the League’s leadership learning and community impact. But there was one more thing that attracted Ashley to become a League member, “let’s be honest! I wanted to make some life-long friendships!”

Meet the transfers

By: Cate Kellett

Elizabeth (Libby) Protzman was born in New Haven and grew up in Guilford. She currently works as a public relations, fund development, and marketing consultant. Her recent collaborations include New England Fashion Week, where she designed the official flier and walked as a runway model in the closing show, a celebrity brand and corporation in Los Angeles, and her town’s nonprofit Food Bank.

Libby is a survivor of domestic violence and recounted her story as a part of the viral “Women Talk” Virtual Conference 2021. This experience has shaped some of her philanthropic endeavors. She has worked for several domestic violence organizations in Connecticut and raised money for Interval House in Hartford. She is an advocate for trauma survivors in Connecticut, currently volunteering for the local anti-trafficking organization Love146 to help prevent other girls from the same fate.

Libby first joined the JLGNH in 2013 and is now transferring back from the Hartford Junior League. Welcome home, Libby!

...

Allison Gallaspy transferred to the Junior League of Greater New Haven early in 2022 from the Junior League of New Orleans. She was born and raised in Louisiana and is trying valiantly to adjust to NewEngland weather. Most days, she succeeds.

Allison is a Librarian for Business and Management at Yale University,working primarily with researchers from Yale's School of Management. In her spare time, she enjoys solving puzzles, doing karaoke (poorly), and playing pub trivia (pretty well most of the time).

She lives in New Haven with her husband, Michael, and their cat, Bubbles, whom many of you met when she crashed Allison's first General Membership Meeting on Zoom.

Five days, One dress

By: Naomie Baptiste and Caitlin Gallagher

On a single night, more than half a million Americans go homeless, which represents 0.2% of the US population.(1) According to the Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project (https://yhhap.org/), the same number of Connecticut residents alone rely on SNAP assistance. The Junior League of Greater New Haven sought to address this problem with the implementation of the Little Black Dress Initiative (LBDI) during the week of April 18-22, 2022. Founded in 2014 by the Junior League of London, the Little Black Dress Initiative is a week-long awareness and fundraising campaign that harnesses the power of social media to illustrate the restrictions poverty places on choices, opportunities, and access to resources. Advocates wear one black dress (or outfit) for five consecutive days, in an effort to spark conversations and awareness about poverty and related issues, including food insecurity. 

Food insecurity is defined as a lack of consistent access to affordable, nutritious food, and impacts 13.9% of Connecticut residents; but in New Haven, the rate is 22%--twice the national average. Compassionate Greater New Haven members took action by wearing their little black dresses; posting on social media platforms; and contacting their networks to raise funds using data, imagery, and even signs reading "all children deserve access to 3 healthy meals everyday." The initiative gained attention of the local community and compelled the hearts of supporters, resulting in success for its inaugural year in New Haven. During the first Junior League of Greater New Haven Little Black Dress Initiative, the chapter raised an impressive $3,500 during the week of LBDI, reaching the set goal of $5,000 by the end of month. The Little Black Dress Initiative was spearheaded by the Finance Committee.

Meet the newest members of the Junior League of Greater New Haven.

Our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging

The founder of The Junior League, Mary Harriman, believed that we all bear the responsibility to learn about the world around us in order to be more effective in our desire to improve it. That we should really try to understand the “why” behind something, not just superficially give it lip service.

As we strive within our organization to live up to our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, we honor and celebrate the struggles, the history and the leaders of our multifaceted world.

The Junior League of Greater New Haven is part of a larger network of more than 125,000 women in over 295 Leagues in four countries. While each League is unique, we all share common mission, vision, and goals. This includes our commitment to inclusive environments of diverse individuals, organizations and communities.

Understanding the importance of this topic in our local community, the Junior League of Greater New Haven continues to utilize our capacity as a training organization to educate our members through topical book discussions, presentations from experts in the field, and purposefully interweaving diversity and inclusion in all we do.

In addition, our League has pledged to ensuring our recruitment practices; Done in a Day volunteer opportunities for members; and League communications, both internal and external, embody our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

AJLI's Statement on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

The Association of Junior Leagues International condemns discrimination, racism, and racial injustice in our communities and in our Junior Leagues. Black women and other women of color have been systemically denied equity and inclusion in our economy, education, civic privileges, and responsibilities in the voluntary sector, including in The Junior League. As affirmed by our member Junior Leagues, we are accelerating our efforts to take action and advance definitive, measurable policies and practices that eliminate racism in our countries, our communities, and our Junior Leagues. When we do this, we unlock tremendous power for our communities and realize our vision of women around the world as catalysts for lasting change.

To learn more about what the Junior League of Greater New Haven is doing to exemplify our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, visit https://www.jlgnh.org/Diversity-Equity-Inclusion-and-Belonging/.