A Letter from the Executive Director
Written by Chelsie Walter. Photography by Karly Nemeth.
A writer, a photographer, and an editor walk into a pandemic…
This isn’t your typical “letter from the executive director,” nor your typical year at your typical nonprofit. 2020 began with high hopes and expectations as Women of Cincy entered our first year as a nonprofit organization. From our origin as an Instagram account in 2017 to evolve into a full-fledged media organization, Women of Cincy’s journey to this moment has been wild. In 2020, we quickly realized that not only was the year going to throw curveball after curveball into our plans – but it was also going to be the year we had to fight to survive, take a hard look at ourselves, and rewrite the rules.
At its core, Women of Cincy is a nonprofit media organization dedicated to creating more empathetic communities. We believe citizens have the power to create a more equitable, inclusive city. That journey begins when we start to take control of our narrative while working to understand and respect one another on a deeper level. To kickstart this work, Women of Cincy focuses on cultivating the next generation of civically engaged storytellers – while promoting systems-level change by centering on the diverse voices that make up our community. In a nutshell, if you change hearts and minds, you change behaviors. And when you change behaviors, you change systems. If I care deeply about my neighbor, I’ll behave as I care deeply about my neighbor... Right?
It’s a simple mission, but achieving it isn’t quite as straightforward. This past year, our community faced – and continues to face – so many obstacles: from unemployment to experiencing homelessness, isolation, mental and physical health problems, financial hardship, death, racism, hate, bigotry, and so many more issues. For many, these are not new obstacles – but a global pandemic paired with political unrest has exacerbated already broken systems.
What do you do with a year like 2020? You show up. We’ve learned that flexibility is key, empathy is a muscle, listening is powerful, and the only way to move forward is together.
From taking a deep dive into the economic mobility of Black women in Cincinnati to creating a one-stop resource guide for community services to covering Black Lives Matter protests and organizing supply drop-offs – we’ve adapted and worked hard to show up for you, Cincinnati.
I am so immensely proud of our team, interviewees, residents, and community members who stepped up this year – and not only held sh*t together but adapted, expanded, and revamped services to create a better future for our city. I am honored that Women of Cincy could play a part in strengthening our community, and I can’t wait to share with you the work we’ve done in our annual report.
Keep reading. Keep listening. Keep loving.
Chelsie Walter
Executive Director
Read our first annual report here.
Want to support this work? Give to our Spring fundraising campaign.
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