Lydia DeLoney: A Conversation

In this interview, Lydia, a longtime member and now Network Coordinator at Union Capital Boston, shares her powerful journey from community advocate to organizational leader. Raised in Roxbury, Lydia speaks candidly about overcoming a rare liver disease, finding purpose through civic engagement, and the vital role social capital has played in her life. Through her work with UCB, GBIO, MCCPA, and the American Liver Foundation, Lydia is a connector, a fighter, and a voice for her community, proving that resilience and relationships can drive real change.

Network Coordinator Lydia DeLoney

Finn: Do you want to start by giving a little background, how you became a Network Coordinator and where you’re from?

Lydia: Yes. I’m originally from Roxbury, Boston, born bred and raised. I’ve been a member of Union Capital Boston for about eight or nine years now. I first got involved through one of my neighbors, who introduced me to Eric. At the time, I was already doing community work, so when I learned about Union Capital, I immediately became a member!

For a while, I wasn’t able to get deeply involved because I actually got sick with a rare liver disease. These past eight years have been a long journey of recovery. This past year has actually been the first time I’ve been well enough to volunteer again, and that’s when I became a Network Coordinator.

And I'm grateful to Union Capital for that, because, you know, when you go from doing 40 hours a week or more to now having to rely on the state disability to take care of you, that's a depressing situation to be in. But UCB gave me an outlet to reconnect with my community. Through Table Talks and networking, people started to hear about the work I had done before, which eventually connected me with GBIO (Greater Boston Interfaith Organization) and MCCPA (Massachusetts Creating Community Power Association).

Both of those partnerships came through Union Capital. I met the late Thomas J. Ruffen through UCB, who introduced me to GBIO, and later he started MCCPA, which also partnered with UCB. So now, I’m a partner with both organizations, and it’s been amazing. It’s helped me rebuild confidence and purpose.

I’ve now been a Network Coordinator since last August, and honestly, I tell people the only reason I won’t move out of Boston is because of my job. I love what I do and the people I work with.

Finn: That’s such a great story. So you technically have two partner organizations?

Lydia: Yes I do , GBIO and MCCPA. I also became an ambassador for the American Liver Foundation last year. Through that, I work with local senators on my “Lend Your Voice” campaign, which focuses on liver health awareness. My next vision is to try to get the American Liver Foundation and Union Capital Boston to partner up. I'm like trying to get this because we do a lot of liver action, and with UCB, we have a lot of action to call type things going on. I know we're over 4000 members, and not just our staff, but our members show up when we need them to, and that's why I like it, because this is the only program I know that offers incentives to get people out there to be involved in the community. It keeps people productive and engaged, especially young people, and we’ve built strong partnerships with schools and hospitals, too.

Finn: Wow cool. So, you said, you said you're gonna have meetings with senators?

Lydia: Yes! The “Lend Your Voice” campaign will involve meetings with senators like Ayanna Pressley, Senator Markey, and Senator Warren. I already work with them through GBIO on housing issues, so it’s great to be able to connect on health topics now, too. They’re familiar faces at this point, sometimes we joke, “Okay, we’re talking about the liver today!”

So you build up those connections and networks, and a lot of it is through Union Capital and the platforms that they're they offer, and, you know, a base to kind of set up the foundation, and now we're launching Toastmasters on Thursday, and they made me president. Talk about stress!

Finn: What is Toastmasters? Is it? It's a club, right?

Lydia: Exactly. Toastmasters International helps you develop your public speaking and leadership skills. It’s funny, I always say I’m shy, but people don’t believe me once I start speaking! Dennis, my mentor, always encourages me. I joke that I feel like a five-year-old being dropped off at kindergarten when I’m with him like, “You can do this!”

Toastmasters has been such a great addition. We hold meetings, give timed speeches, and help each other improve, it’s very structured but also supportive.

Finn: Well, I'm excited for that. I'll definitely try to make it. But, um, I think you already hit on this earlier, but just to reiterate it, what are the missions  of your partner organization?

Lydia: So Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, they deal with a lot of call to action when it involves a health crisis, anything dealing with civic, community and service. We organize “call to action” campaigns around key issues. For example, when there were problems with mail delivery in certain neighborhoods, we brought together a group of residents to meet with their local representatives and find solutions.

A few years ago, we had a huge gathering at the Muslim Community Center in Roxbury, over 1,500 people showed up. Each organization counted how many of their members attended, and of course, Union Capital showed up strong. That’s one of the things I love most about UCB, our community really shows up. You know what I mean?

Finn: Yes! So what does social capital mean to you? And do you have any good examples of social capital throughout your life?

Lydia: For me, social capital is all about connection and shared support. I’m actually going to the Community Leadership Institute in Minneapolis at the end of October, everything’s paid for through Urban Edge. This will be my third time attending, and it’s an incredible experience.

And then with that, social capital gets even bigger, because now we're all for housing under this huge umbrella, you have people nationwide. Now, we're networking and sitting in these classes together, and, you know, telling them our experiences, and what did we do to make it work?

That’s what social capital is, building relationships that can help you, your community, and others when you need it most.