Newtown Youth Services Hires

A New Executive Director

By Larissa Lytwyn

Anthony Tozzi, a former program director at South-End Community Center in Bridgeport, began his first day as Newtown Youth Service’s new executive director December 17.

“It’s wonderful that we have him,” said Life Skills Education Coordinator Roseanne Loring, “especially starting during this busy time of year, right before the holidays!”

“He has over 25 years experience at Bridgeport areas youth agencies,” said Newtown Youth Services board member Joy Kopesky.

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Mr Tozzi said he was almost instantly drawn to the “business of human services.”

He began working at the Stratford chapter of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, an organization he says he loved working with.

“I believe that family is the foundation of a healthy life,” said the self-described “family man,” who lives with his wife and three children, ages 12, 9, and 5. Emphasizing the importance of family life is integral to community building, he said.

Mr Tozzi believes in the two C’s, “competency” and “challenge.” His desire to consistently grow both personally and professionally brought him to serve as program director at both the Bridgeport and Stratford YMCA, a period teaching physical education at a Bridgeport School, the McGivney Community Center of Bridgeport, and most recently the South-End Community Center.

“People look at a business person and social service [provider] as different, but we aren’t,” he said. “I see people in social services as in the ‘business’ of serving people.”

Working in both urban and suburban environments, Mr Tozzi discussed the universal need of every youth: to belong.

“You can be in a backyard tree fort in Darien or a Boys and Girls Club in Bridgeport, and you are both looking for the same thing,” he said, “a place to belong.”

Finding a sense of self is integral to youth, he said, just beginning to identify themselves apart from family and environment.

This journey can be particular hazardous when family neglect and other circumstances come into play.

“I’ve heard it all,” he said. “When you are working with a youth agency, you become an unofficial counselor. These kids will confide you. And it’s so important for these kids to have an adult role model they can look up to, especially during their adolescence.”

“Kids are constantly being marketed to, much more so then even 20 years ago, when television and music was largely adult oriented,” he said. While teens are recognized as a strong consumer market, he said, character values are being sorely neglected.

“Kids are growing up much more quickly,” he said. While kids are dazzlingly advanced in operating everything from play stations and palm pilots to the Internet, he is concerned that a sense of teamwork, honesty, and integrity is being sacrificed.

“Program directors are not just recreation [coaches] rolling out the ball,” he said. “Even when I am working with kids playing basketball, I am emphasizing the importance of teamwork, respecting authority, and playing by the rules.”

One of the most pivotal points in his career, he said, was when a General Electric manager involved in philanthropic nonprofit organizations said that social service agencies “needed to act like a business.”

Since then, Mr Tozzi, he has become even more dedicated to integrating his business administration skills into his agency work.

“I am looking forward to working with Newtown,” he said. “Newtown is progressive, it’s a growing community. I want to increase the visibility of Newtown Youth Services and build even more bridges with established infrastructures in this town to gain steady support for our community.”

He described youth services as a necessity, not a luxury.

“What we need to do is identify the specific ways we can meet the needs of Newtown’s youth,” he said. Drugs, he noted, are a problem prevalent across the United States. “Substance abuse is everywhere,” he said. “We need to be proactive, not just reactive, in handling it.”

He mentioned a student’s reaction to an educational video on the dangers of using ecstasy, a popular club drug.

“After seeing what it does to the brain, this person came up to me and told me that they would never try it,” Mr Tozzi said. “When he saw how badly it could hurt a person, he was determined to stay away from it.”

Mr Tozzi said he has an “open door policy” and encourages members of the community to visit him. “I’d love to hear some advice, any ideas they might have,” he said. “I consider myself a pretty approachable person. I’m excited to be here and look forward to working with Newtown families.”

Mr Tozzi can be reached at Newtown Youth Services, 270-4335.