YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee

Last night, YWCA friends and family gathered at HealthStream headquarters to honor the newest class of the Academy for Women of Achievement. Dozens of honorees from the past 32 years came together to celebrate a new AWA class of extraordinary women. Seven individual honorees—Ivanetta Davis Samuels, Michele Johnson, Rita Johnson-Mills, Sylvia Rapoport, Emily Reynolds, Amanda Weeks-Geveden, CWS, and Evette White—were welcomed into this prestigious circle. Ingram Industries is this year’s corporate honoree. It was an evening that reminded us of the power of community and the enduring legacy of women who lead. A heartfelt thank you to YWCA Board Chair Kendra Deas and HealthStream’s CEO and Co-Founder Bobby Frist for hosting such a memorable gathering. The official induction ceremony will be held at the Music City Center on October 24. Tickets are available at our website. https://lnkd.in/e4YUPTma

Congratulations to all our graduates! Huge thanks to Cade and the YWCA team and all the sponsors who make this program possible - Dollar General Literacy Foundation, United Way of Greater Nashville, Jackson, & Truist. And to our incredible volunteer Carly Clark 📸 for capturing this special day!

Many thanks to U.S. Bank for its support of our Girls Inc. at YWCA Nashville program! We recently received a $10,000 #CommunityPossible grant from the U.S. Bank Foundation, which will help support our money management and financial literacy education programming as the new school year gets underway. Read more about this generous donation on our website. https://lnkd.in/ebAiABxz

Huge thanks to Metro Nashville Public Schools for hosting this important conference. We're looking forward to supporting students and their families during this new school year across all of our programs. Thank you Sandra Dominguez and Vanessa Johnson for all you do for our Weaver Domestic Violence Center, Girls Inc., AMEND Together and Family Learning Center families.

YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee has added eight new members to its Board of Directors for the 2024-2025 term. New members represent leaders in the business, finance, health care, government, and insurance sectors. In addition, the 125-year-old Nashville nonprofit named a new board chair and chair-elect and promoted three senior leaders. The new YWCA board members include: Gail Alexander, Community Volunteer & Philanthropist Roxianne Bethune, Diversity Consultant Tonya White Hallett, SPHR, Vice President Human Resources | Amazon Adrienne Johnson, TN Health & Benefits Managing Director | Mercer Susie Mackie, Community Volunteer & Philanthropist Elizabeth Millsaps, Principal & Founder | Millsaps Public Strategies Burley Nelson, M.A.,SPHR Nelson, Sr. Vice President, CHRO | First Acceptance Christopher Otillio, JD, CRPC, Vice President – Financial Advisory Private Wealth Management | Baird Kendra Deas, SHRM-SCP, Vice President Human Resources for HealthStream, is YWCA’s new board chair, and Marlene Eskind Moses, Partner at GSRM Law, is board chair-elect. For a full list of YWCA Board of Directors, visit our website.  Latrina Adams, Michelle Mowery Johnson, and Tamara Ambar were promoted to Chief Financial Officer & SVP of Compliance, Vice President of Strategic Communications & Advocacy, and Senior Director of Grants respectively. Read our press release here: https://lnkd.in/eewjvCnV

Our Senior Director of Grants, Tamara Ambar, led a workshop this week on ways to diffuse tension in the workplace and build collaboration. Tamara has a background in mediation and working with diverse groups. She helped leaders from area organizations - including the Sexual Assault Center, Safe Haven, Communities in Schools, and Healing Minds and Souls - build skills in communication, conflict resolution, and cross-cultural competency. Huge thanks to The Healing Trust for inviting Tamara to facilitate this important workshop. #ConflictResolution #Workshop #HealingTrust #YWCANashville #Community  

The Nissan Foundation recently named YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee a 2024 grant recipient! The grant will help fund our Stand Against Injustice webinar series and Racial Justice Challenge. Both programs are aimed at fostering understanding, empathy, and action within our community. Created in 1992, the Nissan Foundation annually awards grants to nonprofits supporting innovative programs that break down societal barriers and build inclusive environments. Learn more at www.nissanfoundation.com. #NissanDiversity

We had an incredible day at our Girls Inc. summer camp as four inspiring members of the Women’s Caucus of the Metro Nashville Council joined us. They spoke to our girls about the power of advocacy, shared insights about their roles as elected officials, and led a fun and creative advocacy button-making activity. A huge thank you to Joy Styles, Brenda Gadd, J. D., Terry Vo, & Quin Evans Segall for empowering the next generation of leaders! #WomenInLeadership #AdvocacyInAction #strongsmartbold

The Academy for Women of Achievement season continues! We are so honored to welcome this inspiring group of leaders - @Ivanetta Davis Samuels, Michele Johnson, Rita Johnson-Mills, Sylvia Rapoport, Hon. Emily Reynolds, Amanda Weeks-Geveden, CWS, Evette White, & Ingram (corporate) - into the 32nd AWA, presented by Amazon. HUGE thanks to April Wolff, with April Bowers Creative, for the amazing headshots of our individual honorees. We're excited to introduce these women to our past honorees later this summer at the AWA Honoree Party and officially induct them into the Academy on October 24th at the Music City Center. Learn more about the event and purchase tickets at our website: https://lnkd.in/e4YUPTma

A powerful way to wrap up the week. Thank you to our community partners and YWCA leadership who attended.