NORTH PARK — Like a lot of Generation X-ers, Carmen Rodriguez learned how to type on typewriter.
"And now I Tweet," she said.
Rodriguez was elected president of the Hollywood-North Park Community Association at Tuesday's meeting of the organization. She said her experience straddling the generation gap makes her uniquely positioned to bring HNPCA, founded in 1951, into the age of, if not Snapchat, at least Facebook.
"I have an appreciation for how things were done, and where we're going," she said.
In the past year, as HNPCA has faced hot-button issues like Northeastern Illinois University's use of eminent domain to build student housing on Bryn Mawr Avenue, the association has struggled to keep pace with the flow of information and residents' demands for action.
Given what Rodriguez called "a renewed interest in community advocacy," her first priority is to update and improve HNPCA's communications tools. The goal, she said, is not only to keep current neighbors in the loop on news and events, but to pique the interest of those who aren't familiar with the neighborhood.
"People are not connecting with us," she said. "We need to meet people where they are and seek them out."
Social media is "where community is happening" in 2015, Rodriguez told her new constituents at Tuesday's meeting.
She unveiled a mockup of a revamped HNPCA website (still in the testing phase), a Facebook page and Pinterest and Twitter accounts for the organization.
"It is not unachievable for us to be modern and hip and groovy," Rodriguez said. "The bridge building is not that hard."
HNPCA's old guard was more than happy to pass the torch to Rodriguez.
"I'm thrilled at the new talent," said Jewel Klein, an HNPCA board member for more than 30 years.
"We need that new young blood," agreed Judie Simpson, outgoing HNPCA president.
That it took a contentious issue like eminent domain to revitalize the organization didn't surprise Simpson.
"The last time we had this many members, we were fighting a McDonald's and KFC on Peterson," she said. "I look forward to having a lot more faces helping Carmen."
Rodriguez will need the support as she tackles issues including not only NEIU but the revitalization of the community's commercial district.
"There is a lot for us to do," Rodriguez said. "I'll be looking for all of you to step forward."
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