HOME AWAY FROM HOME: Scholars in the Homeworks Trenton program, which will soon have a permanent headquarters designed by JZA+D near the city’s Cadwalader Park. Homeworks houses girls who attend Trenton public schools during the week, providing support and structure to help them thrive.

By Anne Levin

Among the three honorees at the Women of Achievement breakfast held by the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce on June 26 was Natalie Tung, the co-founder and executive director of Homeworks Trenton, an after-school boarding program for marginalized girls who attend the city’s public schools. Tung, a native of Hong Kong and a graduate of the Lawrenceville School and Princeton University, was nominated for the distinction by Princeton-based architect Joshua Zinder.

The two had met at a networking event during which Tung spoke of her goals for the program — to provide the students with an environment of stability, structure, and support. Fast-forward five years, and Zinder has helped Tung find a permanent home for the program in Trenton. His firm, JZA+D, has designed the repurposing of the building, which will increase its usable square footage by some two thirds, provide dormitories, a full kitchen, areas for work and study, staff apartments, and more.

“I just found her idea of providing opportunity for young people of color to be fascinating,” Zinder said of his first meeting with Tung. “She said, ‘Oh, we’d like to find a permanent home one day.’ I said to her, ‘Why don’t you find the place now? And I’ll help.’ We started touring Trenton, and looked at a bunch of buildings. This building really spoke to her. She really felt the connection to it. I talked to her about how I thought her vision could happen there.”The future home of Homeworks Trenton is on Edgewood Avenue, at the edge of the city’s Cadwalader Park. The house was originally built in the 1740s. “It was a farmhouse before being turned into the Trenton branch of the Florence Crittenton Home for Fallen Women,” said Zinder. “In the 1990s to 2011, it became a residential women’s program home for the New Jersey Juvenile Justice System. So for over 100 years, this building has supported the women of Trenton. The fact that it has that legacy, and that Homeworks is really about scholarship and giving these young women a foundation to meet their dreams, makes this building a good fit.”

Tung was a sophomore at Princeton University when she started teaching at Trenton High School. Witnessing the destructive way young women often pitted themselves against each other, she started wondering about alternatives. Specifically, would the kind of supportive boarding school environment she experienced at the Lawrenceville School be possible in Trenton?

“Being able to live with teachers and have the 24/7 support that I had at Lawrenceville made me realize the power of women and the power of community,” said Tung. “I had been in spaces where girls were not lifting each other up. This [Lawrenceville] was the first time I was in a space where they were doing that rather than tearing each other down. It was very powerful. It made me feel invincible. What if I brought my boarding school experience to Trenton?”

For a homework assignment in a class on entrepreneurship during her sophomore year at Princeton, Tung created a nonprofit based on that idea. That summer, she launched a four-week residential pilot program with five girls. The program now boasts 25 girls, currently housed on the campus of Rider University. They live in a dormitory during the week, and go home on weekends. Staff takes them to and from school. Students, staff members, and their families live together.

Ground for the new home will be broken this summer. The goal for moving in is June 2025. Fundraising is ongoing, Tung said, with about $1.5 million in place from foundations, individuals, and the New Jersey State Legislature. The goal is $4.5 million.

“The most important thing about the new building is that we’ll be able to get our staff permanent housing,” she said. “That’s huge. What I’ve realized is that Homeworks is really about the people, the team that makes it what it is today. We need staff who are really dedicated, and to have housing for them and their families will really be a game changer, putting us to another level where we can flourish. Being actually rooted in Trenton is going to be great. One of our values is community, and it is so important to us to be where our community is. Being able to be back in the Trenton community, and be a pillar there, will be awesome. We definitely want to do more for the community.”

Being formally recognized is nothing new for Tung. Before last week’s Women of Achievement award, there have been honors for her and the program from McKinsey & Company, Barclays, Camelback Ventures, Comcast, Hollister, Princeton University, and more. Most recently, the Taco Bell Foundation awarded Homeworks $25,000.

Tung is thankful to Zinder for his efforts in making the permanent home a reality. “He is our biggest ally and advocate, and I am beyond grateful to him and his team,” she said. “They are extremely intentional. He has really put our scholars first. He had them come and pick out the roof and bathroom tiles. They had options. That’s why I trust him so much with this project. We also had a woman of color on an architects’ panel, speaking to the scholars about architecture and interior design.”

Zinder, in turn, has been impressed by Tung’s dedication and drive. “Getting historic and zoning approvals is what we do, day in and day out,” he said. “But the remarkable thing is that throughout it all, Natalie was guiding the vision. She has raised a significant amount of money, is getting grants, and managed to secure a loan from TD Bank. She had this vision. Yes, I encouraged her, but she has brought it to this point. It looks like Homeworks will become a model for doing it in other cities. That vision is why I submitted her for the Women of Achievement award.”