DSNI creates leaders who will continue to feed this Initiative - no, actually sustain this Initiative. We ve continued to pour more and more resources into leadership development as a core part of building communities. Fighting the familiar problem of brain drain in poor neighborhoods, DSNI has stressed coming back to youth over the years, encouraging them to feel a sense of ownership in the community by returning to it once they ve done their journey, as Barros calls it. Barros himself came back to the Initiative after graduating from Dartmouth College in 1996, and in 1997 was elected vice president of the board and of Dudley Neighbors Inc., DSNI s community land trust. He became executive director earlier this year after a national search.
True leadership finds out where and how it can best be utilized in the grand picture of things.