Elizabeth Smart, child safety advocate and bestselling author, has been selected for the Community Foundation of Southwest Colorado’s 2024 Making a Difference speaker series.
Smart is a survivor, Kelly Quach, Community Foundation events manager, said in an email to The Durango Herald. In 2002, Smart was abducted from her home while her family slept. She was 14 years old. She was returned to her family in 2003 after being held captive for nine months.
Today, Smart is a vigorous child safety advocate. She founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, which provides services to promote education, victim recovery and advocacy against sexual violence, according to the foundation.
She represents empowerment and “shows us that it is possible not only to overcome extreme adversity and take control of your future, but also to light the way for others,” Quach said.
Smart will speak at Fort Lewis College’s Community Concert Hall at 7 p.m. Oct. 8. The Making a Difference speaking event will include a 20-minute panel discussion about child advocacy, sexual assault and recovery services featuring La Plata County nonprofits and organizations.
The Community Foundation’s Making a Difference speaker series has featured the likes of former World Cup alpine ski racer Bode Miller, conservative political and cultural commentator David Brooks and Monika Lewinsky.
The series serves to “cultivate conversations and nurture ideas that truly make a difference in our community,” Quach said.
Tickets for the event can be purchased at swcommunityfoundation.org.
cburney@durangoherald.com
