New YWCA S. Hampton Roads leader leans on personal experience to help empower women

Regina Malveaux is the new leader of the organization that works to eliminate racism and empower women.

Mission of YWCA

The YWCA South Hampton Roads is a multi-service organization. Our mission is eliminating racism and empowering women by providing programs that include racial injustice initiatives and regional sexual response programs. We operate the emergency domestic violence shelter program along with a transitioning housing program that serves clients coming out of the shelter needing long-term housing. We offer the YWCA kids' program, which provides affordable after-school care for a sliding-scale fee. Shortly we will be launching a young women's program to help them developmentally and prevent them from ending up in a shelter like ours. We hope to launch it this summer.

My roles as executive director

I like to think of myself as a chief spokesperson for the organization to help people understand our brand. We're almost a $2 million organization and so it's my job to make sure we are adequately resourced and increasing our brand and donor base and have the funding we need to do important work. We have program directors who do a phenomenal job overseeing their staff and implementing our programming. Economically, it has been a challenge not just for our organization but for all organizations. Right now, it's important that we plant the seeds about the mission of YWCA. When the economy recovers, hopefully people are in a better position to give to charities. Fund raising is an important part of what we do. It's equally important to look at how we can reduce cost and partner with other organizations so we can maximize the donor dollars that we do have. Donors aren't in a position to give at the same level as they had in the past. They expect us to come together with similarly missioned organizations for the job we need to get done. We are open to that and know that with a good partner, they are an added value.

Empowering women

I graduated from Howard University School of Law in 2000 and moved back to San Diego, which was my home. I worked in nonprofit management for 10 years before deciding to take this opportunity to move back to the East Coast. Everything I have done before now was leading me up to this moment. I went to school without the intention of ever practicing law. I was very committed to the idea of social work. I wanted to get the skills I needed to be the advocate who could work on issues of change. Working in nonprofit management allowed me to engage in social advocacy and serve on the front lines. In San Diego, I founded The Women's Legal Center, an organization that helped women who didn't qualify for certain low-cost law-assistance programs and who couldn't afford market-rate legal services. My work with South Bay Community Services and The Jacob Family Foundation's Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, was community development work. I also served as a legal advocate for the YWCA San Diego.

My passion

I'm driven by the need to help eliminate racism and empower women. I'm a black woman with a white mother who has processed the world through the lens of race. I'm driven to see us do both as a country and a community. This is what drew me to the YWCA.As a young mother, I was in an abusive relationship for years. I had the internal resources to respond quickly and appropriately. A lot of women don't have the ability to create a safe and empowering environment to get their lives back on track. It makes me feel really good and grateful to have an opportunity to be part of that process.

Future of YWCA South Hampton roads

My primary objective over the coming year or two as I've said before is to build our brand and donor base. It's important that we help folks understand who we are. A lot of them think we are a female version of the YMCA. We also want to build the resources to implement additional programs. We have significant facility challenges and I'm hopeful that in the next couple of years, we will look at a capital campaign for a new shelter facility. I'm also interested in a women's economic program here at YWCA. I want to see our organization build on its programming in this area and do workforce development programs to help women with their work-readiness skills.

Never settle

Know that there is a better vision for your life and there are a lot of people out there happy and willing to help. We're just a phone call away.