From her home in Park City, Utah, Betsy Zorio leads the global nonprofit Save the Children鈥檚 efforts in the United States, overseeing childhood education initiatives in more than 250 rural and high-poverty communities.
鈥淚 love the work that we do and that we are giving every child a chance to succeed,鈥 she said with a smile. 鈥淓very child is born with their own unique gifts and talents and they should have a right to share them with others.鈥澛
Zorio, vice president of U.S. programs for Save the Children, is a 2000 graduate of the bachelor of arts degree program, .
鈥淢y time at George Mason was transformative,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know who I was or what I wanted from life, which I suspect is the case for many college students.鈥
Also like many students, she was hesitant to commit to a major field of study.
鈥淚 started on a pre-med track, thinking I would be a pediatrician or obstetrician, then switched to government and politics with a pre-law minor, thinking I would be a lawyer and work on social justice issues,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hile my career path has been in nonprofit management, the ability to explore different subjects helped crystalize my interests and strengths.鈥
Besides coursework in the Schar School鈥檚 Government and International Politics program, Zorio discovered important abilities outside of the classroom.
鈥淚 had the privilege of managing George Mason鈥檚 Best Buddies chapter for three years, which helped build my leadership skills,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hose experiences combined to give me a strong foundation upon which to build my career and life.鈥
Best Buddies International works to foster inclusion and social connections for people with developmental disabilities.
Since its launch in 1919, Save the Children has been dedicated to providing health, education, and protection to children living in poverty. The global charity is credited for cutting the mortality rate in half for children under the age of 5, reducing school absenteeism by a third, and decreasing child marriage by 33 percent.
鈥淲e believe that every child deserves a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm,鈥 she said.聽
鈥淲ith in-school and after-school programs in more than 14 states, Save the Children focuses on kindergarten readiness and increased proficiency in third grade reading and fifth grade math.聽Reaching these thresholds is an enormous indicator if a child finishes school and is successful in their later years.鈥
The nonprofit is stationed in the most vulnerable parts of the world. In the United States, this is in places such as Native American reservations, the Appalachian and Ozark mountains, and throughout the Mississippi Delta.
Save the Children provides strategies to complement a community鈥檚 existing social programs, Zorio said. Oftentimes, the organization is the only child-focused nonprofit providing assistance to a vulnerable area.
She also works to spark change at the community level, and to support emergency response and recovery programs. However, she believes at-home visits cultivate the most dramatic results for young children.
鈥淧arents are their child鈥檚 first and best teachers,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 remember when I made a home visit to a mother of two boys, 4 and 2 years of age. When the 4-year-old was a baby, the mother felt silly talking or reading to him, as she thought he was too young to understand. Incidentally, he was delayed with his speech, comprehension and vocabulary.
鈥淚 explained to the mother that it鈥檚 good to hold conversations and to read to babies. It鈥檚 all about the bonding and interaction. The mother followed my advice and was constantly engaging with her youngest. The toddler became very social and verbal. The mother said she wished she had known about the benefits of interacting, talking, and reading when her oldest was a baby.鈥
Even after joining Save the Children, Zorio continued to contribute her time to other humanitarian efforts. In 2022, she went on an excursion with Trekking for Kids鈥攁 nonprofit that offers hiking expeditions to iconic locations whereby the proceeds benefit orphaned children in the area.
The expedition also turned out to be where she met her future wife, Joyce.
With the Scottish Highlands as their backdrop, the two met and fell in love. Once back in the States, they continued dating despite being more than 2,000 miles apart.聽Soon, however, they decided to live together, and Zorio packed her bags and moved from Washington, D.C., to Joyce鈥檚 home in Park City.
Reprinted by permission from the Park Record, Utah. Additional reporting by Buzz McClain, Schar School of Policy and Government.