2016 Annual Report a CONVERSATION with CEO DEBORAH ULLMAN: 2004—2017

150 Hartford Region THEIR WORLD, OUR IMPACT As a staff member, I meet families that utilize all the support our organization offers, and I see them achieve more than they believed possible. A YWCA STAFF MEMBER My children are nurtured, challenged and encouraged by their teachers at the Elmwood ELC. They are loved. My husband and I are partners with the staff, and our resulting communication strengthens our children’s experience. AN EARLY LEARNING PARENT The Young Women’s Leadership Corps is a life-changing experience. I want to be a surgeon, and with the help of YWLC, I know I can achieve my goal. A YWLC PARTICIPANT It is very helpful having someone that can listen to your everyday challenges. The advice and constructive suggestions are very welcome. I feel very confident talking to [the program manager]. She is very patient and knowledgeable and is a great listener. A YWCW PARTICIPANT » YWCA Hartford Region 2016 Annual Report A CONVERSATION WITH CEO DEBORAH ULLMAN: 2004—2017 What brought you to YWCA? The Asylum Hill neighborhood – my childhood base – was home to women and children whose families have lived in poverty for generations. They wanted to break that cycle, but needed help. I cared deeply and wanted to be part of that. I joined the YWCA board in early 2004 and at that time YWCA was experiencing some major challenges. So when I received the phone call asking me to become the interim CEO, I accepted. My goals were to establish financial stability, help right the ship and foster mission-driven programs responsive to the social and economic realities of the 21st Century. YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. How does YWCA work toward that mission? We work tirelessly to break the cycle of poverty and provide hope for the future. At our Early Learning and Childcare Centers, we are changing children’s lives – many of our families live in poverty with little hope for their future. We make sure that children and their parents are ready for kindergarten and beyond. Parents know that in our Early Learning Center, their children are learning to read and count, and to run and jump and they have the self-esteem and curiosity to keep on learning. Our YW Career Women (YWCW) program gives women with children the support they need to succeed in college and be ready for a career with a wage that will support their family. A woman who has made the commitment to further her education is balancing family, school and often a job so that can make a better life for her family. YWCW Navigators work with each individual to set their own goals and a plan to achieve those goals. If you change the life of a woman, you change the world. YWCA programs transform lives so that women and their families succeed and have a bright future. Deborah Ullman Chief Executive Officer What do you want readers to know about YWCA’s impact on you? After 13 years, YWCA is who I am – I have persimmon blood. My experience working with clients, staff and board has profoundly changed the way I think about peace, justice, freedom and dignity. We all deserve it. Ending gender and racial inequality is part of me now and that will not change as I move to this next phase of my life. What do you think is in the future for YWCA? I am proud that the organization I leave behind is a YWCA with a bold mission and a bright future. The board and staff are prepared and anxiously anticipating bringing the organization to new heights as we continue the fight to eliminate racism and empower women through innovative programs and tireless advocacy. DEBORAH ULLMAN Chief Executive Officer 150 Hartford Region 1 Q&A with Maria E. Kokiasmenos Chair of YWCA Hartford Region Board of Directors What are the responsibilities of Chair of YWCA Hartford Region? The Chair gives the CEO advice and retains oversight regarding all affairs of the YW. She meets regularly with the CEO to understand the most important work on the CEO’s agenda, and she also leads all meetings of the Board of Directors. The Board is collectively tasked with supervising and controlling the business, property, and affairs of the YW. What are the goals for the board in 2017? The Board’s key task goal in 2017 is to select a new CEO who is passionate about our mission and who can take the YW to the next phase of its important work. A team of the Board is actively participating in the search for both a new CEO, and the entire Board is regularly updated on our progress. We expect to name a new CEO in early fall 2017. After Deb Ullman retires in late June, the Board will be working with an Interim CEO who will be expected to keep the YW on a steady course until our new CEO is in place. Our main goal during this time of transition is to ensure that the YW’s clients, staff, and programs continue to flourish. Where do you see YWCA going in the next couple of years? And why? I see the YW Maria E. Kokiasmenos expanding its services to more clients, providing new services, and becoming an even more prominent voice for gender and racial justice in Connecticut. We are uniquely positioned — both mission-wise and geographically — to reach a wide swath of people, and I want us to increase our impact, our membership, and our donor network. What’s your personal philosophy on what it takes to lead YWCA? Above all else, the leaders of the YWCA, whether on the staff or on the Board, need to have a deep understanding and passion for our intersectional mission and the ability to work well with the stakeholders needed to accomplish that mission. Those stakeholders include our clients, staff, corporate and individual donors, our members, and the Board. We need to be able to appreciate the different perspectives and contributions that all of these people bring to the table and how everyone can work together in service of our mission. As the Chair, what sort of trends did you see YWCA adopting or cultivating? There is a trend toward more collaboration with other nonprofits, which YW has been doing for a long time in many of our programs. These collaborations help our clients and community by getting the most knowledgeable people together to solve problems YWCA Hartford Region 2016 Annual Report and provide support. There is also a trend toward a two-generation model for helping families, which addresses the needs of both parents (or grandparents) and children. I see the YW increasing our work in that area. The interest in YWCA’s mission to eliminate racism and empower women seems to be growing. Why do you think that is? Recent political shifts have left many of us feeling as though our rights and identities are under attack. But instead of being afraid, many people have responded with the desire to fight back YOUNG WOMEN’S and protect each other from those attacks, and they are looking LEADERSHIP CORPS (YWLC) for organizations to help them do that. I want YW to be a place Future community leaders from middle and high school cultivate their skills where people can come together and channel their fear into through YWLC. The program prepares concrete actions that we can all take to make this young women for college and gives a better place to live. ■ them necessary 21st century life skills. Programs are located in participating schools in Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford and Windsor. YW CAREER WOMEN YW Career Women is a program made for women with families who want to graduate college and better their lives. YW Career Women supports women through coaching and advocacy as they balance their education, family and job. Participants complete their degree and successfully pursue a career in a growing field. The program is offered at Capital Community College and Manchester Community College. MONEY CONFERENCE FOR WOMEN The annual Money Conference for Women focuses on money management, investment and retirement strategies for women of all ages, economic backgrounds and levels of financial YWCA EARLY LEARNING & knowledge. The program addresses the CHILDCARE CENTERS financial issues women face in their work YWCA Children leave YWCA Early Learning and personal lives. & Childcare prepared academically, socially and emotionally to succeed in PROGRAMS VOLUNTEER INCOME kindergarten. YWCA programs offer high TAX ASSISTANCE (VITA) quality, affordable, accessible childcare VITA is a program in which certified AND services to strengthen the well-being of volunteers prepare tax returns free children and their families. Programs of charge for eligible individuals are located in East Hartford, Hartford, SERVICES and families. Manchester and West Hartford. SOROMUNDI COMMONS YW KIDSLINK Soromundi Commons is a supportive Families with school-aged children housing facility managed in enjoy the safe and affordable before collaboration with Chrysalis Center, Inc. and after school childcare YW Kidslink It provides emergency shelter for women provides. The program offers children and permanent affordable apartments creative activities, recreation, academic for women and men as they move support and social enrichment. toward self-sufficiency. Y Young Women’s Leadership Corps with Programs are located in Bolton, Rocky Angélique Kidjo at In the Company of Women luncheon. Photo by J. Fiereck Photography, LLC. Hill and West Hartford. 3 YW CAREER WOMEN CHANGES LIVES Marianne’s story. arianne was a single parent to then 3-year-old Sara. She was doing the best she could to provide for them, Mworking in a retail store for a wage that did not support the two of them.

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