September – October 2025
September Birthdays
3 Carrie Derr
5 Otto Edwards
6 Elaine Colna
8 Judy Peterson
10 Kaitlyn Conkel
11 Lenice Aiken
12 Joan Ward
13 Regina McCoy
14 Tamika Brown
14 Kia Woodward
16 Jose Torres
20 Ashley Love
21 Beulah Robinson
23 Michelle Chilton
24 Raymond Founder
24 Ashlynn McAlister
27 Jheaya Conwell
28 Valerie Rosa-Gil
30 Jaylon Lockett
30 Nada Ettayem
October Birthdays
3 Betwan Goff
6 Alexis Moore
6 Mariah Martinez
8 Portia Li
9 Juanita Crockett
12 Jeanne Ballard
12 Amina Islam
13 Jenn Hannah
13 Linda Damron
16 Jamez Murray-Earliwine
18 Denice Nelson
21 Tamara Jamison
21 Cynthia Toler
21 Daniel Kinney
23 Crystal Gary
25 Debrah Jones
29 Gracey Wilson
29 Joslynn Bridges
September Anniversaries
1 YEAR
Sandeepthi Balumuri
Victoria Conkel
Angela Dennis
Emily Jacobs
William Kennedy
Maame Owusu-Yeboah
2 YEARS
Sean Caldwell
Alexa Molitor
Anna Moore
3 YEARS
Camryn Belcher
Adiel Cathey
5 YEARS
Ashley Li
6 YEARS
Kaitlyn Conkel
8 YEARS
Ontayya Zachary
9 YEARS
Patricia Murray
10 YEARS
Betty Rickabaugh
12 YEARS
Sierra Derenburger
13 YEARS
Frances Rene Call
34 YEARS
Kathleen Athey
October Anniversaries
1 YEAR
Sparkil Alli
Valerie Rosa-Gil
LaTasha Thompson
TaVonna Wilson
2 YEARS
Jalil Bridges
Renee Owens
LaiMari Spence
Melissa Tannenbaum
3 YEARS
Danielle Boyd
Kynalyn Waderker
4 YEARS
Alacia Bagley
William Benson
6 YEARS
Lenice Aiken
11 YEARS
Otto Edwards
Monica Harris
Milita Lee
Christine Loveless
12 YEARS
Linda Cox
17 YEARS
Betsy Kile
19 YEARS
Michelle Chieffo
22 YEARS
Portia Li
34 YEARS
Dwayne Meadows
Welcome to the following teammates who joined the YWCA family in July and August:
Michael Abbate – Custodial Maintenance Technician
DelQuan Black – Family Support Specialist
Tera Carr-Martin – Program Assistant
Amina Islam – Program Assistant
Debrah Jones – Program Assistant
Meera Kelso – Program Assistant
Ashlynn McAlister – Program Assistant
Alexis Moore – Program Assistant
Dana Raymond – Chief Financial Officer
Riley Roliff – Program Assistant
Julie Sanchez Garcia – Program Assistant
Eric Turner – Cook
Gracey Wilson – Program Assistant
Lauren Wisenbarger – Advocacy & Organizing Coordinator
People On the Move
Thank you to Khala Wilson for all your hard work & dedication to our mission as a service coordinator these last two years. The Women's Residency team wishes you well on your next journey & will be cheering you on in your career! Continue to share your joy & radiate your sunshine wherever you go! And, please join us in welcoming Juanetta Burch to our team, who shared her story in YWCA’s September newsletter, Y Now.
Congratulations on your retirement, Judy Peterson! Thank you for your 7+ years of service to YWCA Columbus, and all you’ve done over your illustrious career. And, welcome to our new CFO, Dana Raymond! We’re thrilled you are here.
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YWCA Columbus recently partnered with Clark Schaefer Strategic HR on a compensation study and market analysis. The goal was to ensure all YWCA staff members are paid equitably and fairly and feel valued for the incredible work they do. The new compensation philosophy rolled out 9/16 reflects YWCA’s commitments to competitiveness, living wages, leadership accountability, and a transparent salary structure. If you have additional questions, please contact HR and be sure to read the update in your email inbox.
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Moving forward, please direct all payroll-related questions, updates or changes to payroll@ywcacolumbus.org.
Additionally, we’ve created a new email address to make it easier for everyone to request invoices for their programs: invoicing@ywcacolumbus.org. Please use this address whenever you need an invoice created for program revenues or pledge payments.
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YWCA will host a Trunk or Treat at the Family Center from 5 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Volunteers decorating and supplying trunks should plan to arrive between 4:15 and 4:45 p.m. and stay for the full duration of the event. If you are interested in bringing your car to decorate and hand out candy or other giveaways, please sign up here!
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We’re excited to share several opportunities for professional growth through promotion and transfer!
Now Hiring:
Payroll & Accounting Specialist (Finance – Griswold Building)
Education District Leader (Education/YKP – Columbus District)
Early Childhood Center Director – Safe & Sound Jenkins
Early Childhood Center Director – Safe & Sound Family Center
Before & After School Program Assistant (Part-Time) – Gahanna & Westerville
Check your email for full job descriptions and application details or reach out to DLO with any questions.
Team Announcements + Updates
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Join the Short North Alliance and YWCA Columbus for a free training designed to build participants' understanding of identity, lived experience, and building intentional communities of belonging in the workplace. In this session, you will learn about how different parts of a person’s identity, like their race, gender, and economic status, may come together to shape their experiences.
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The Good Neighbors of Central Ohio will host its annual picnic at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept 27. The volunteers who organize the event each year aim to create positive activities for homeless families and individuals and to educate the community and dispel myths regarding the homeless. In addition to a fun day, families will be provided with much needed clothing, personal care items, as well as, shoes, boots, books, school supplies, blankets, coats, hats and gloves, and travel bags in preparation for winter.
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The Columbus Chamber Women’s Collective invites you to join their annual Women of Impact Conversation, which will celebrate three dynamic women who are a force for change in the Columbus region. This event is a powerful reminder of how one person’s commitment can lead to societal betterment and is a fantastic opportunity to build community and gain new insights.
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Activists and Agitators is an annual YWCA Columbus event dedicated to uniting the Columbus community and inspiring attendees to pursue greater social change together than we can achieve alone. On Wednesday, Oct. 8, Ijeoma Oluo will join YWCA Columbus and its partners to discuss homelessness in Central Ohio.
Want to volunteer? Click here & be sure to add “YWCA Columbus Volunteer” in the “Guest of” field.
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YWCA will host a Trunk or Treat at the Family Center from 5 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Volunteers decorating and supplying trunks should plan to arrive between 4:15 and 4:45 p.m. and stay for the full duration of the event. If you are interested in bringing your car to decorate and hand out candy or other giveaways, please sign up here.
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More details to come – stay tuned!
Save the Date
Shout out to Westerville YKP - Thus far, we’ve increased our enrollment by 75 students since this time last year. – Laura Miller
I would like to shout out volunteer & donations coordinator, Natasha Battise, and the entire staff at the Family Center for your extra time, commitment, positive energy, and support provided to families for the Back to School Bash and the Cuts and Curls events between Aug.23 and 24. You helped make sure the families we serve were able to celebrate both the end of summer break and start of a new school year and that they did so feeling good with a new hair style! – Makiva McIntosh
Shoutout to ALL Family Center staff for a successful Back to School Jam weekend! The weekend was a huge success! And, a big thank you to the FC maintenance team for set-up for Back-to-School Jam weekend! It was a heavy lift and they did the work without complaint. – Crystal Gary
I would like to shout out Stephanie Parrish-wilkes. She has gone above and beyond helping families here at the Family Center. She has fulfilled clothing requests, sorted and organized clothing donations, and assisted with prepping bookbags for ALL the children. I could not have completed any of the events without her help. – Natasha Battise
Congratulations to Alessia Ross & Alexa Molitor, who collectively welcomed THREE babies to the Advancement department on Aug. 22 and Sept. 6, respectively.
YWCA Columbus in the News
The Make-A-Day food truck brought joy and delicious meals to our downtown space in July, feeding 70 residents and YWCA staff members!
WOSU shared how the current administration’s $6 billion grant freeze on summer camps and other programs would impact local organizations, including YWCA Columbus.
Elizabeth Brown, president and CEO of YWCA Columbus, spoke with 10TV about what losing 21st Century Learning Center funds might mean to our organizations’ programs.
All YWCA Kids Place summer campers spent a day together at a Columbus Clippers game!
YWCA Columbus unequivocally condemned the recent Executive Order that directs federal agencies to find ways to more easily criminalize homelessness through punitive measures such as forced removal from public spaces and involuntary institutionalization.
YWCA Columbus’ Safe & Sound Childcare Center was featured in a Spectrum News 1 story about the city’s recent $6 million investment aimed at expanding pre‑kindergarten access across the city.
In August, YWCA Columbus met with the offices of Congressman Mike Carey, Senator Jon Husted, and Senator Bernie Moreno to advocate for policies and funding that support women, children, and families in Franklin County and across Ohio as part of YWCA USA’s National Week of Action.
YWCA Columbus celebrated #NationalNonprofitDay on Aug. 17. It’s not too late to donate and support one of the most impactful nonprofits doing meaningful work in Central Ohio!
YWCA launched two new tools in August to simplify your giving! Mindful Giving helps you shop for our most-urgently-needed items simply and efficiently: check out our wish lists here. We also now offer a quick, easy way for you to check whether your employer will match your donation, which you can do here through Double the Donation.
Midstates Recreation highlighted the YWCA Family Center playgrounds, which were completed last summer and offer our families and the children at Safe & Sound a safe, fun place to play!
YWCA Columbus’ advocacy & organizing coordinator, Lauren Wisenbarger, shared more details about Central Ohio's shelter funding crisis.
President & CEO Elizabeth Brown sat down with Nia Noelle at Magic 95.5 to discuss our upcoming event, Activists & Agitators.
Looking for the last issue of YWConnect? Read YWConnect July - August 2025 here.