Elizabeth Swibel SOC, ’98, SPA ’05
Susan Dweck Scholarship
SPA Student Finds Meaning in Service
Elizabeth Swibel is the recipient of the Susan Dweck Scholarship, which was established in 1996 by Susan Dweck (BA/CAS/1965; MSHR/SPA/1988) and supports a graduate student enrolled in the master of public administration program in the School of Public Affairs. |
BY ADRIENNE FRANK
Elizabeth Swibel always wanted to be a journalist—that is, until she found herself working as a reporter.
“As a journalist I was just churning out stories,” said Swibel, a 1998 graduate of the School of Communication. “I thought to myself, ‘This is life?’ As a journalist, I just wasn’t happy.”
So, five years ago, Swibel quit her reporting job and accepted a grant-writing position at the New York City headquarters of the Anti-Defamation League. And with that, she "found something that made me happy."
“I’m Jewish, so ADL’s mission really resonated with me. I could see how this organization touches people’s lives.”
In 2002 Swibel and her husband, who met while undergraduates, returned to Washington, and she began working as director of grant writing at ADL’s downtown office. One year later, Swibel returned to school.
“I love grant writing, but I knew if I was ever going to assume a leadership role at a nonprofit, I needed to have more of a background in theory,” she says. “When I started looking at MPA (master of public administration) programs, I knew AU was the place for me.”
Swibel says it was a challenge balancing a full-time job and evening classes, but she’s “excited about all the opportunities that lie ahead.”
The Rockville, Maryland, resident, fresh with her MPA, has launched a nonprofit, Project Flex, which distributes fitness equipment to disadvantaged D.C. residents.
“We’re targeting the obesity problem, which is an issue I care about very much,” says Swibel, who began Project Flex with the help of School of Public Affairs professor Margo Bailey. “It’s exciting, because when I first started at ADL, it was my goal to lead a nonprofit. And now, I’m actually doing that.”
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