YWCA Dayton

YWCA Dayton names new President & CEO

May 8, 2023 By Dayton937

YWCA Dayton, the region’s oldest women’s organization, is pleased to name Terra Fox Williams as the next president and CEO.

Fox Williams’ commitment to YWCA Dayton’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women can be seen across her more than 26-year career. This includes her most recent position as Director for the Office of Health Promotion at Public Health — Dayton & Montgomery County, where she worked to end health disparities, build partnerships, and cultivate an inclusive work culture.

Fox Williams will take on her new role leading YWCA Dayton starting June 7.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be chosen to lead and serve in such a prestigious organization as YWCA Dayton. Throughout my life, I have found that a resume alone may outline the journey, but it is your ‘why’ that drives that journey. My ‘why’ has always centered on being a voice for the voiceless, and a resource to uplift and empower humanity,” Fox Williams said.

YWCA Dayton’s Board of Directors and leadership team selected Fox Williams after an extensive four-month search.

“We are excited to welcome Terra Fox Williams to YWCA Dayton and are confident she will bring her unwavering commitment and deep experience as a community leader to the YW’s mission of eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all,” said Board Chair Jennifer Heapy.

At Public Health, Fox Williams was responsible for the strategic, operational and fiscal management for the Office of Health Promotion. This includes supervising the Bureau for Maternal & Child Health; Women, Infant and Children (WIC); Local Office on Minority Health; Food Equity Task Force, EveryOne Reach One Maternal and Infant Vitality Task Force; Health Equity Strategies and Initiatives; and Chronic Disease and Prevention.

Her successes include establishing a 5-year strategic plan for the Office of Health Promotion; securing more than $4.5 million in state and federal funds to address infant mortality; and implementing the Maternal & Child Health Division.

Beyond her most recent role, Fox Williams has decades of experience in public health and organizational leadership including past roles with Miami Valley Child Development Center, Community Health Centers of Greater Dayton, Wilberforce University, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, and Warren County Combined Health District.

Fox Williams holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Southern University and A&M College and a Master of Science in Public Health from Wright State University.

In her new role as president and CEO, Fox Williams will be leading an organization that operates the only domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers in Montgomery and Preble Counties (including a 24/7 crisis hotline), four transitional housing programs for women and families, youth leadership and prevention education programming, and racial and social justice advocacy efforts.

YWCA Dayton’s Board of Directors thanks Patricia McDonald, interim president and CEO, who has been leading the organization since January.

YWCA Opens Huber Heights Campus!

April 27, 2021 By Dayton Most Metro

A nearly 20-acre space in Huber Heights is now the newest program location for YWCA Dayton, the oldest multicultural social services organization serving women and girls in the Miami Valley. The 151-year-old nonprofit currently operates six locations across Montgomery and Preble counties.

The YWCA Dayton Huber Heights Campus, located at 7650 Timbercrest Dr., was built in 1980 as
the Montgomery County Developmental Center, which closed in 2018. The property consists of 11
buildings on 19.445 acres, including: seven residential units; a 20,000-square-foot administration
building with community meeting space; and green space with a gazebo, picnic shelter, and trail.

“This was an incredible opportunity,” said Shannon Isom, president and CEO. “We are not out to
grow for the sake of growth; based on our history, based on our relationships, based on the work
we’ve done for more than a century, we’ve been presented with an opportunity to live out our
mission and serve the needs of our community, in collaboration, differently than we ever have
before.

“There are very few agencies that get presented with the ability to create, to be innovative, to build,
to develop, in partnership with others; YWCA Dayton is in a place, and a season, to embrace that.
It’s taken us 150 years to get here, and we’re excited and ready to be agile in meeting the Miami
Valley’s needs for the next 150 years.”

The campus will open in phases, with initial use focused on administrative functions, youth
programming, and community rentals, including long-term small business leases. “Our first priority is to get this right. There are very few organizations that are afforded the opportunity to think about their mission in a way that feeds community,” Isom said. “We have built a task force of local community leaders and stakeholders, from funding to strategic planning tooperations, and the support we’ve received from the Huber Heights community is palpable.”

That includes the property’s first onsite service project – a reflection courtyard and friendship fire ring
– installed in July 2020 by Huber Heights youth Micah and Sarai Combs as their Eagle Scout
capstone. Sarai is a member of the first class of female Eagle Scouts in the Miami Valley; the
siblings’ project, with an in-kind value of more than $4,000, took 26 volunteer hours to complete.

Founded in 1870, YWCA Dayton has been at the forefront of the most critical social movements —
from voting rights and civil rights, to affordable housing and pay equity, to violence prevention and
health care reform.

At YWCA Dayton, we:

• Operate the only domestic violence shelters and rape crisis center in Montgomery and
Preble Counties, as well as the area’s longest-running 24/7 crisis hotline: 937-222-SAFE,
which responds to more than 7,000 calls every year.
• Provide affordable housing and support services for women and families who are victims of
abuse or experiencing sudden or chronic homelessness. In 2020, 598 individuals in 291
households were helped by YW housing programs.
• Empower teens to explore and achieve their highest potential through Girls LEAD!, a
signature curriculum of educational and prevention outreach programming, and engage men and boys in preventing violence against women and girls through AMEND Together, an in-
school prevention education program. More than 300 youth were served in 2020.

• Advocate for legislative priorities that address racial justice and civil rights, women’s
economic empowerment, and women’s health and safety. In 2019-20, YWCA Dayton
endorsed 27 pieces of legislation and met with 26 public officials.

Artemis Center & YWCA Host 5K Walk to Support Domestic Violence Hotline!

August 29, 2016 By Dayton Most Metro

Artemis Center and YWCA Dayton will, for the first time, host a collaborative friend and fundraiser to promote awareness of domestic violence and raise funds to support the Domestic Violence Hotline share by Artemis Center and the YWCA Dayton. Walk a Mile in Her Shoes™ Domestic Violence 5Kwill be held Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016, in conjunction with the University of Dayton School of Law Human Rights Awareness and Advocacy group and the University of Dayton Women’s Center. Synchrony Financial will be the presenting sponsor.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes™ Domestic Violence 5K is an event that highlights domestic violence as a critical community issue and educates the community on the work of Artemis Center and YWCA Dayton. Activities include a 5K run/walk/stroll, as well as a 1-mile walk by men and women, wearing heels, to emphasize the crucial role male voices play in ending violence against women.

All proceeds will support Artemis Center and YWCA Dayton’s
shared 24-hour crisis hotline
(937-222-SAFE), the only such hotline in both Montgomery and Preble counties. The hotline office staffed in equal parts by trained YWCA Dayton and Artemis Center staff. In 2015 alone, more than 8,600 crisis calls were received through the hotline.

The 5K, chip timed by Key Sports, will start and finish at the University of Dayton River Campus (1700 S. Patterson Blvd.), with an easy out-and-back course perfect for experienced runners, hobby joggers, walkers and families alike. No animals allowed; strollers are welcome.

Registration opens at 8 am, with the race beginning at 9 am, rain or shine. Registration fees are tax-deductible; early-bird registrations run through Sept. 9 and guarantee a T-shirt: Adults, $25; Students with ID and Children 3 and up, $20. Children 3 and under, free.