ABOUT YWCA RICHMOND

OUR MISSION

YWCA Richmond is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.

Our Vision

We transform lives by creating access to opportunities, strengthening resilience, and advancing equitable systems for lifelong success.

Our Values

Our values are the fundamental beliefs by which we operate every day. They are the key to building a healthy culture where everyone feels trusted, safe, and supported. They are the essential principles that guide our behavior, our decisions, and our interactions.

  • RESPECT: We value everyone’s identities, lived experiences, and perspectives. We will emphasize the dignity and humanity in all people and communities. We will actively challenge and interrupt racial and gender biases and stereotypes that further marginalize others and work to improve our cultural sensitivity.
  • INTEGRITY:  We will behave in an honest and ethical manner in performing our duties to the best of our ability by setting high standards for performance and holding ourselves and each other accountable. We will work to build transparency and maintain confidence in our daily operations and decision making by providing open and honest communication.
  • COLLABORATION: We will invest the time to build and strengthen relationships based on trust, mutual support, and equity. We recognize that partnership is critical to strengthening our community. We will respect the power of collaborative decision making and fully dedicate ourselves to advance our mission and support the long-term success of our employees, clients, families and community.
  • INNOVATION: We will incorporate a trauma-informed and solution-focused lens to develop programs and services that advance our strategic goals to identify and eliminate barriers faced by individuals most impacted by racial and gender inequity. We will emphasize creativity, adapting to change and best practices to cultivate new ideas that transform lives, strengthen resilience, and create a path to equity and opportunity.

Two Women Talking

Our History

In 1887, YWCA Richmond was conceived by a group of eight women concerned about housing, safety and stability for female workers coming into the city seeking employment. The oldest YWCA in the South,  YWCA Richmond has been leading efforts to empower women and children for the last 134 years, adding new programs and services to meet the changing needs of the Greater Richmond community.

YWCA history our story timeline

Our Leadership

  • Monshaye Burrell, Center Director, Sprout School at Bainbridge
  • Kristen Evans, Director of Human Resources
  • Keshia Fleming, Center Director, Sprout School at Second Presbyterian
  • Nadia Gooray, Director of Equity and External Affairs
  • Makita Harper-Byrd, Program Manager, Domestic Violence Crisis Shelter
  • DerShawn Jefferson, Clinical Team Lead
  • Mica Morgan, Director of Operations
  • Katie Rhodes, Advancement and Events Manager
  • Robin Sawyer, Prevention Program Manager
  • Rachel Yazdgerdi, Crisis Response Services Manager

Board of Directors

  • Judy Pahren, President
    Capital One
  • Naureen Hyder, Vice President
    Hyder Immigration Law
  • Elizabeth Rawls, Treasurer
    Bank of America
  • Faith Alejandro, Secretary
    Sands Anderson, P.C.
  • Michele Allen
    Altria Client Services, LLC
  • Nathalia Artus
    Atlantic Union Bank
  • Elvira Cashel
    kaleo, Inc.
  • Eva M. Colen
    City of Richmond, Office of the Mayor
  • Keyanna Conner
    Deloitte
  • Ashley Dillon
    Markel Corporation
  • Maya Eckstein
    Hunton Andrews Kurth, LLP
  • Regina “Gina” Elbert
    Dominion Energy

  • Robin Foster
    Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU Health
  • Noopur N. Garg
    Dominion Energy
  • Vanessa C. Hampton
    Truist
  • Pamela Hart
    Hunton Andrews Kurth, LLP
  • Camille Leak
    Real Talk & Brave Spaces, LLC
  • Dalila Medrano
    Chesterfield County
  • Angie Mellgren
    CoStar Group
  • Lauren Warner Morano
    Scott Insurance
  • Megan Overton
    Capital One
  • Anna W. Reed
    CoStar Group
  • Terry Reynolds
    Kroger
  • Sonya Ravindranath Waddell
    Federal Reserve Bank
  • Katie Wall
    PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP

Annual Impact Report

Our 2022-2023 annual impact report discusses how our organization reflects on our transformation with each step guided by deep collaboration and purposeful change.

2022 - 2023 IMPACT REPORT

Financial Statements
and Strategic Plan

Download YWCA Richmond’s 2021 Audit

Download YWCA Richmond’s 990 for FY 21

Download YWCA Richmond’s 2025 Strategic Plan