As I reflect on my first term serving as Ward 1 Councilor in Newport, I keep coming back to the young people in our community.
This year, they reminded me why I do this work.
From the City Council dais, I have advocated for policies that create safer, healthier, and more equitable opportunities for Newport families. But some of the most meaningful moments of public service didn’t happen during council meetings.
They happened outside Pell Elementary on cold mornings, sometimes in 5-degree weather, greeting children as they arrived at school, in my role as Co-President of RENEWport, helping to launch our Morning Greeters Program.
No matter how cold it was, the kids brought warmth with them. Over time, trust grew, and not because of my titles, but because I kept showing up. Trust was built through simple moments like tying a shoe, fixing a rushed ponytail, or listening as a child excitedly told me about a baseball game, sailing lesson, a loose tooth that would bring money under a pillow, or trip to Disney.
I typically spend most of my time with middle school and high school aged youth, but those mornings at Claiborne Pell Elementary School helped reinforce something important: young people don’t just need policies that support them. They need adults who see them, listen to them, and make them feel they matter.
I have witnessed that same truth over and over again, through my 7 years of work with FabNewport where I am an educator, with the official title of Director of Community Engagement and Equity. When we gathered with middle and high school students in Miantonomi Park, to launch the FabNewport Youth Council, we expected pizza and brainstorming. Instead, we spent hours listening as they shared their fears about racism, food insecurity, and an uncertain future.
They spoke openly about feeling like society sees youth as a problem to solve rather than people to understand.
They were thoughtful, honest, and deeply aware of the world around them.
They reminded me that leadership starts with listening.
I’ve seen that repeatedly through my many years of working with youth in various capacities at FabNewport, where I’ve had the privilege of helping young people discover their strengths, passions, and dreams. Being part of creating a space where young people can thrive has been among the most meaningful experiences of my life and there has to be more of it.
I’m sharing this because these experiences have shaped how I lead.
They’ve strengthened my belief that leadership is not just about votes cast in chambers. It’s about presence. It’s about trust. It’s about building a city where every young person feels seen, valued, and supported.
I will continue helping to shape Newport into a place where everyone can thrive, where young people have opportunity, and where community is built through connection and care. And anyone who knows me, trusts that I will do that from anywhere I am. I didn’t start this work when I took my seat on the dais, but I have continued it there.
As community leaders I want us to remember that the kids are watching us. Maybe they aren’t old enough to vote yet, but what we do now will leave a lasting impression on their memories and a lasting impact on their lives. We should be working on leaving things better than how we found them.
Young people are paying attention to the words we say, the way we conduct ourselves, choices we make and the future we build and they deserve leaders who believe they matter enough to keep showing up.
Sincerely,
Ellen Pinnock
Ward 1 Councilor, Newport
