2014 Annual Report

2014 ANNUAL REPORT
Dear Friends,
Inspiration is a key ingredient of the work
we do every day to make women’s lives
better. We’re inspired by our vision for
the future: a world where every working
woman, regardless of background or
circumstances, can earn enough to take
care of herself and her family. A world
where every woman can get an education
and find a good job with family-supporting
wages, fair workplace practices, and
opportunities to advance.
Inspiration may be intangible, but it’s an essential part of every
plan we make and every strategy we undertake. We’ve made
exciting progress toward our vision this year, pursuing our
priorities of making workplaces fairer and ensuring that more
women can enter and succeed in college and training leading
to good jobs.
We’re inspired every day by the commitment of the many
advocates, donors, and partners who participate in and
support our work. We couldn’t do what we do without you.
At the heart of it all are women like Tanya and Mary, whose
inspiring stories are the focus of this report. Their strength and
determination energize us to change the policies and reform
the systems and practices that stand in the way of progress
for millions of women like them. What you’ll learn as you read
about them is what a dramatic difference Women Employed’s
work is making for low-income women and their families.
We hope that Tanya and Mary inspire you as much as they
inspire us. We are grateful for your contributions to the changes
that are helping them succeed. We look forward to working
together in the years to come, inspired to create a better
economic future for all working women.
Anne Ladky
Executive Director
Lisa Pattis
Chair, Board of Directors
Meet Mary
Just as Mary’s
mother inspired
her, Mary has
inspired her
own children.
At 19, Mary Maraventano was a pre-med sophomore
at Broward Community College, working two jobs and
living at home to help make ends meet.
It wasn’t easy to balance work and school, but Mary
managed. She was a hard worker with a good head
for science, and she knew she was on the right path.
Then she received a letter from Broward Community
College saying her financial aid was slashed.
Without that support, there was no way she could continue to take classes. She had to drop out.
Mary remembers mustering the courage to tell her mother. “It was her dream to see me graduate
from college, and she was very, very upset.” Mary sighs. “She had fought her way as a single
working mother in the 60s. She wanted more for me. I told her I wasn’t giving up on my dream.
I’d go back later.”
But that dream floated further away over the next three decades as Mary was pulled into an
endless stream of low-wage jobs. She married, had two children, then found herself divorced
and raising her kids on her own. “I was barely able to make enough money to support us,” she
remembers. “It was tough.”
Mary still longed to finish her degree. “But I knew I had to put my children first,” she says. “I had
to put my hopes and dreams aside.”
When her son was accepted at the University of Illinois, Mary didn’t have enough money to help
him cover tuition. “I wrote to the university, telling them about our situation and asking if there
was anything they could think of that might help,” she remembers. “And they told me about the
Monetary Award Program. That’s what made the difference. The MAP grant is what helped him
complete college.”
The MAP grant was THE reason Mary and her son were able to complete college. In a very
challenging budget year, WE advocated for and won a $2 million increase in tuition assistance
in Illinois—an increase that was maintained for FY2015. WE’s Student Advocates for Success
organized students across Illinois who signed petitions, rallied, and urged their legislators to
avoid cuts in critically needed financial aid.
While her son went to school, Mary
worked her way up from barista to manager
at Starbucks. Every day, after the final
customer left, she would loosen her bright
green apron, her heels aching; back pain,
exhaustion, and stress were a daily part of
life. “I became physically ill from the long
hours and being on my feet all the time,”
Mary remembers.
One night, when she came home and
sank into the couch to ease her aching
back, she told herself, “Something has
to change.”
Mary thought about her mom, who had
died recently. Mary knew what she would
say if she were here: go back to school.
Her plan made sense. A degree is valuable in today’s world. Women who get postsecondary
education or training are much more likely to find better-paying jobs and good opportunities.
Remembering that MAP had been the key to funding her son’s education, Mary applied for and
received a MAP grant for herself. Almost 30 years after leaving college, with financial aid paving
the way, Mary was finally able to return.
“It was like jumping off a cliff,” she says with a laugh.
She was luckier than many adult students—she didn’t need to find childcare for her kids, she
already had two years’ worth of college credits, and she knew she wanted to go into healthcare.
Many working students aren’t so well-prepared, which is why Women Employed advocates for
support programs that help students get career guidance, find affordable childcare, and bolster
their academic skills before starting college.
Mary dove right in, taking as many classes as she could during her first semester at
Loyola University.
Mary knew what her career goal was when
she entered college. But many low-paid
working adults need effective programs
to enable them to choose a career path
and get ready academically. WE made
exciting progress in our partnership with
City Colleges of Chicago to transform adult
basic education and English as a Second
Language instruction into a pathway to
college success. Thousands of women with
academic skill barriers are now enrolled
in “bridge” programs that enable them to
progress to college credit courses leading
to good jobs or further education. WE and
City Colleges developed curricula for health
care, transportation, and hospitality bridge
programs that are being used effectively
by teachers across the city. Retention rates
in bridge programs are dramatically higher
than in traditional adult education courses.
Over 80 percent stay in the courses and
complete the program.
But it wasn’t easy. During class, she sat amid a sea of young students and laptops. Mary
opened her spiral-bound notebook, picked up her pencil, and found that her arthritis made it
painful to scrawl out notes during lectures.
When Mary slid into her seat to take her first test, she began to hyperventilate. She realized
she was having a full-blown panic attack. “I never had problems when I was younger,” she
says, “but when I went back I worried so much about finishing my tests on time that it triggered
these attacks.”
With lots of support from Loyola professors and counselors, and two years of unrelenting work,
Mary completed all the requirements for her Bachelor’s degree in psychology. On graduation
morning, she brushed out her long auburn hair, applied her lipstick and mascara, and placed
a mortarboard atop her head. Then she opened her dresser drawer and took out a pin with a
small photo of her mother. She clipped it to the folds of her gown. When she walked across the
stage to receive her diploma, her mother walked with her.
“I wanted her there with me,” she remembers. “To see that I achieved our dream.”
Mary went on to earn her M.S. in Clinical Counseling Psychology, and today she has a job
that inspires her. She does cognitive rehab with low-income seniors in supportive living
communities. “It’s enriching,” she says. “I get to help people, to give back.”
Talking about it, she gets teary-eyed.
“I was lucky. I got a second chance,”
she says.
Her main message is that no one
should be denied an education if they
have the desire to get one. “Nobody
should be turned away because they
can’t pay. Look at me, at my son—the
MAP grant provided the opportunity for
an education, and then we had the
tools to succeed.”
Mary’s daughter gave her this scrapbook for
Christmas which says, “You inspire me.”
For Mary, finishing college was the
difference between being stuck in
30 years of low-wage jobs and getting
a satisfying career with good wages.
That’s why WE is a partner in Complete
the Degree, a collaboration with two other
adult student-focused organizations.
Complete the Degree provides high-quality
advising to enable aspiring students to
overcome barriers to returning to college,
including resolving loan issues, choosing
the right college, and working out transfer
problems. In addition to benefitting adult
students, the program helps ensure a
return on public investment in tuition aid.
Meet Tanya
inspired
to care
for
others
Tanya knows she’ll be cold no matter what she
wears, but she does what she can: she pulls on
two pairs of pants and two pairs of socks, then layers
on two hoodie sweatshirts.
At the warehouse, she buttons up a white lab coat
over all of this, winds a scarf around her neck, and
covers her head with both a knit hat and a hairnet.
Next come plastic sleeves, a mouth mask, an apron,
and two pairs of plastic gloves. Finally ready, Tanya
braces herself against the frigidity of 35-degree air,
and opens the door to the assembly line room.
She takes her place along the line, where she and her coworkers combine chopped lettuce,
croutons, and parmesan for Caesar salads and tuck chicken into tortilla wraps. They work for
hours, mostly in silence, arms and hands moving with mechanic repetition as they create the
grab’n’go foods destined for display cases in Starbucks, Costco, and Wal-Mart.
Tanya never knows much in advance which days she’ll work, which hours, or how long her
shift will last. Sometimes she’s scheduled for an eight-hour shift, but works just four because
her assembly line’s order is completed early. Other times, she stands for twelve hours on
her aching feet and heads home late at night. The unpredictability of her schedule makes it
impossible to go back to school, since she can’t commit to any class schedule. She can’t plan a
budget for rent, food, or transportation since she never knows how much money she’ll make.
Tanya’s heart sinks as she removes her mask and gloves for the day: it’s only been five hours,
but her line has finished their order. As she’s punching out, her supervisor says, “We don’t need
you tomorrow.”
It’s the last thing Tanya wants to hear. She only worked 25 hours last week and needs more
hours to be able to pay this month’s rent. Tanya earns just $9.25 per hour.
Volatile schedules are a fact of life
for millions of low-wage workers like
Tanya, but this is an issue that is not
well understood by the public. Women
Employed is bringing attention to
this problem, mobilizing advocates,
and developing and promoting
recommendations to policymakers.
Did you know that a full-time worker
earning minimum wage in Illinois makes
just over $17,000 a year? As part of a
statewide coalition of advocates, Women
Employed is leading the charge to raise
Illinois’ minimum wage. WE provided input
to a mayoral minimum wage working group
that recommended a significant increase. In
December, the Chicago City Council voted
to raise the wage from $8.25 to $13 an
hour over the next five years.
Even though her job at the warehouse is
temporary, Tanya’s situation is anything but.
Since her first job as a cashier at Wendy’s,
she’s spent nearly three decades in lowwage jobs. While raising her son as a single
mother, she worked as a banquet waiter
for a catering company, serving guests
at fancy downtown hotels. She whisked
away half-eaten salads and steaks during
her shifts, but had to rely on food stamps
to buy groceries to feed herself and her
son. Unfortunately, Tanya’s situation is not
unique. It’s a daily reality for millions. Nearly two-thirds of low-wage workers in the U.S.
are women, 80 percent are adults, and the majority are primary or co-breadwinners for
their families.
Today, instead of heading home after her shift at the warehouse is over, Tanya goes to see her
father. Because Tanya’s mother died when she was just a baby, her father raised Tanya and her
four older siblings on his own. Now, the roles have been reversed: Tanya does everything she
can to help care for him. He’s 84 and is battling prostate cancer.
Since she doesn’t earn paid sick days—like 80 percent of low-wage workers—she has had to
forgo work to take her dad to his doctor’s appointments, something she can ill afford to do. But
Tanya’s father was there when she needed him, and she won’t let him down now. Tanya knows
she’s good at taking care of him, and it’s inspired her to change her life. She wants to break
out of the food industry by training to become a certified nursing assistant, and then go on to
become a licensed practical nurse.
For Tanya and millions of women like her, a good job—with a living wage, paid sick days, a
stable schedule, and opportunities to advance—is a distant dream. But it doesn’t have to be
that way. Women working in jobs that we all depend on deserve fair working conditions and
wages. Women Employed’s fight for workplace practices and public policies that “raise the floor”
for low-paid workers is part of a growing movement for change—one inspired by the hard work
and dreams of women like Tanya.
Low-wage working women like Tanya,
who can’t afford to take time off while
pregnant, can no longer be fired for
requesting reasonable accommodations
at work. Women Employed advocated
for passage of a pregnancy fairness
law in Illinois, giving pregnant workers
the right to basic accommodations—
like a bottle of water, breaks, or a stool
to sit on—that allow them to keep
working and have healthy pregnancies.
In Chicago, 461,000 workers like Tanya
don’t receive a single paid sick day for
their own illness or to care for a sick family
member. Women Employed is leading the
Earned Sick Time Chicago coalition to pass
legislation guaranteeing a minimum amount
of earned sick time for all workers. WE
co-authored a new proposed city ordinance
and is steadily building support for it in the
City Council.
Thanks to our donors and partners for making it
possible for us to break down barriers to economic
security for millions of women like Mary and Tanya.
We’re inspired by your generosity.
We salute the many foundations, corporations, organizations, and
individuals who have supported us over the years. The following donors
generously contributed between July 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014.
We recognize the importance of every contribution and regret that we
cannot list the many people who donated less than $100. Heartfelt
thanks to all our supporters.
ORGANIZATIONS
$100,000 and up
Ford Foundation
Grand Victoria Foundation
Joyce Foundation
JPMorgan Chase Foundation
Robert R. McCormick Foundation
$50,000–$99,999
Chicago Foundation for Women
Chicago Tribune Charities,
a McCormick Foundation Fund
Lloyd A. Fry Foundation
RBC Capital Markets / RBC
Wealth Management
Donohue, Brown,
Mathewson & Smyth LLC
Ball Corporation
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
Hughes Socol Piers Resnick
& Dym, Ltd.
Dennis W. Thorn & Associates
Walgreens Company
Wintrust Financial Corp.
Working Poor Families Project
$5,000–$9,999
Aon Corporation
Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Bill Bass Foundation
Charles Jacob Foundation*
DeVry Education Group
Polk Bros Foundation
Erie Family Health Center
Searle Funds at The Chicago
Community Trust
Grisko LLC
GATX Corporation
International Services Inc.*
$25,000–$49,999
Miner, Barnhill & Galland PC*
AAR Corp
The PrivateBank
Allstate Insurance Company
Taft*
Alphawood Foundation
Woodward, Inc.*
The Boeing Company
Chicago Community Trust
$1,000–$4,999
Family Values @ Work
AFSCME Council 31
Woods Fund of Chicago
Aramark
$10,000–$24,999
Aronberg Goldgehn Davis
& Garmisa
ComEd
Fifth Third Bank
Northern Trust
Pert Foundation
Richard H. Driehaus Foundation
BDO Seidman LLP
BMO Harris Bank
Chicago Foundation
for Women’s Latina
Leadership Council
DLA Piper
John D. & Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
KPMG
Local 881 UFCW
McDermott, Will & Emery
Meade Electric Company, Inc.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP
City Colleges of Chicago
Deutsch, Levey and
Engel, Chartered
Grant Thornton LLP
IFBWC Inc. Chicago
Instituto del Progreso Latino
ITW Foundation
Jenner & Block, LLP
Kralovec, Jambois & Schwartz
Nicor Gas
Law Offices of Gary R.
Waitzman LLC
Public Communications Inc.
Mesirow Financial
RBC Foundation
Metra
Robinson, Curley & Clayton PC
Schiff Hardin LLP
National Partnership for
Women & Families
SEIU Illinois Council
National Women’s Law Center
Seyfarth Shaw at Work*
SIPI Metals Corporation
Patricia C. Bobb &
Associates P.C.
Spencer Foundation
Pircher, Nichols, & Meeks
Ulmer & Berne LLP
S. Wolf & Associates, Inc.
Union Pacific
SEIU Healthcare
Vedder Price
Selden Fox, Ltd.
Winston & Strawn
Foundation
Soroptimist International
of Chicago
Soule, Bradtke & Lambert*
$100–$999
Tranzact Technologies, Inc.
Access Living of Metropolitan
Chicago
Tressler LLP
American Library Association
Workers United
Ariel Investments
UNITE HERE Local 1
INDIVIDUALS
Martha Garcia
$500–$999
$100–$499
$10,000 and up
Rebecca Girvin-Argon
Rebecca Bacon
Amina Abdullah
Deborah Golden
Bernadette Barron
Barbara Adelman
Jennifer and Hersh Glagov
Ellen Bird
Howard Adelman
Pattis Family Foundation
Donna Gutman
Kemery Bloom
Bonnie Agnew*
Cynthia Hardie
Sarah Bradley
Carolyn Agnew
$5,000–$9,999
Sharon Harris
Jennifer Breuer
Deborah Akines
Debra Hass and Buc Rogers
Patricia Broughton
Mary Alberts
Toni and John Henle
Elizabeth and David Bueschel
Barbara Alt
Sandra Hirsh
Edie Canter
Sharon Alter
Nicole Johnson-Scales
Mary Kennedy Carew
Sally and Vincent Anderson
Fern Josephs +
Carole Veronesi Colantoni
Lucia Annunzio*
Debbie Thorne and Jerry Esrig
Melissa Josephs
Delia Coleman
Bridget Arimond
Melissa Kibler Knoll
Colleen Connell
Deborah Armstrong
$2,500–$4,999
Judith Kossy
Carol Lynn Coughlin
Patricia Arnold
Deborah Lahey
Judy Erwin
Veronica Arreola
Susan Lichtenfeld
Suzanne Farrand
Anna Assenmacher
Connie Lindsey
Lisa Swedenborg Getson
Sue Augustus
Marcia Mawe
Lee Glazer*
Monique Austin
Sara Dioguardi
Judy McCaskey
Margaret Gregory
Ann Hopkins Avery
Shelley Gorson and Alan Salpeter
Family Fund*
Patricia McKiernan
Jim Ayers
Paddy McNamara
Sydney Hans and
Lawrence Strickling
Harriet Harty
Dorri McWhorter
Mary Kay Heffernan
David Bamlango
Davis Jenkins
Deidra Merriwether
Diane Jastromb
Ruby Banipal
Melissa Moore
Jacqueline Leimer
Susan Bart
Linda Myers
Lydia Stazen Michael and
Daniel Michael
Karen Lewis
Stacey Bashara-Stearns
Lisa Rosenberg and
Howard Balikov*
Iliana Mora
Gail Ludewig
Meegan Dugan Bassett
Tracie Morris
Rosemary Bayzer
Philip and Janet Rotner +
Leslye Mueller
Katherine Maehr and
Samuel Pickering
Janet Schumacher+
Georgia Nelson
Sarah Mansberger
Teresa Soppet
Sheila Penrose*
Brian McCormick
Gloria Ysasi-Diaz
Joan Perkins +
Jacqueline Moore
Barbara Phillips
Brandon Neese and
David Wick
Linda Friedman
Nancy and Rick Kreiter*
Fay Clayton and Lowell Sachnoff
Alice
Greenhouse+
Susan Mendelsohn
Grace Allen Newton
Janice Rodgers
Kathleen Almaney
Lucy Ascoli
Virginia Bartholomay
Marion Cameron
$1,000–$2,499
Jean Pogge
Jill Allread
Erika Powers
Katharine and Basil Babcock
Anne Pramaggiore
Charlene and Bob Baizer*
Juliette Pryor
Pamela Baker and Jay Franke
Anna Rappaport
Marti and Tony Belluschi*
Stephanie Riger
Mary Beth Berkes
Elena Robinson
Kathleen Boege
Laurie Rompala
Sharron Brent-Norwood
Sheli Rosenberg
Lydia Bueschel and
Christopher Frumkin
Lisa Rowe
Andrea Bueschel
Erin Schrantz
Ann Byrne
James and Sheila Schultz
Ellen Carnahan and Bill Daniels
Joan Shapiro
Elizabeth Cole
Carol Silverman
Alison Conlon
Beth Bronner Singer
Vicki Curtis+
Katie Smith
Anne Megan Davis
Beverly Sosa
Mary Kay Devine and
Jason Coulter
Ronna Stamm and Paul Lehman
Gail Edgar
Sharon Terry
Sharon Eiseman
Carole Schecter
Julia Stasch
Laura Elliott
Ambar Mentor-Truppa and
Mike Truppa
Barbara Engel
Mabel Tung
Denise Ferguson
Elizabeth Turley
Michael and Barbara Fishman
Linda and Terry Van Der Aa*
Karen Fishman and
Anne Ladky+
Sandra VanGilder
Gwyn Friend
Elaine Weiss
Aviva Futorian
Joyce Webb
Diana Nelson
Liz Niederkorn
Gerard Notario
Barbara Pearlman
Jean Perkins and
Leland Hutchison
Linda Ballard
Sara Beazley
Brenda and Martin Becker*
Ann Becker
Lisa Bedner
Deanna Bellandi
Nancy Bellew
Alison Benis*
Robin and Allen Berg*
Susan Berkowitz
Fredda Berman
Carolyn Blessing
Day Piercy
Mary Boehler
Wendy Pollack
Beth Boghossian
Karen Prieur
Pam Bondy
Vikki Pryor
Sarah Bornstein
Eleanor Revelle
Jane and Eddie Brandwein*
Harriett Robinson
Christine Breitzman
Nancy Ross
Kate Breski
Carl Ruzicka
Donna Brookins
Bettylu and Paul Saltzman
Julia Brown
Diana Sands
Nancy Brown
Elizabeth Sarnik
Penny Brown
Edna Schade
Matthew Bruce
Sandra Schirmang
Hon. Will Burns
Jacqueline Taylor and
Carol Sadtler
Michelle Busch
Darlene Vorachek
Mary Callow
Patricia Werhane
Nancy Duff Campbell
Barbara M. Wilson
Joanne Canyon-Heller
Jenny Wittner
Virginia Carlin
Julie Zaideman
Paula Carstensen
Merle and Michael Cahan*
Beth Catlett
Juliann Cecchi
Caryn Chaden
Nicole Galvan
Suzanne Kanter
Dana Mikstay
Deborah Chalfie*
Tonya Gauff
Judy Kaplan
David S. Miller
Elizabeth Fullington Clauser
Madeline Gelis*
Kathy Kaplan*
Ellen Miller
Nancy Clawson
Cynthia Gentles
Jacob Karaca
Sharon Miller
Lydia Cochrane
Meredith Conant George
Anne Kavanaugh
Todd Miller
Ellen Cohen
Kristin Ginger
Laura Luckman Kelber
Judson Miner
Janice Cohen
Mary Ellen Girgenti
Shelly Kellner
Cheryl Moe
Wendy Cohen
Alexis Gladstone
Dell Kennedy
Jeffrey Mono
Amber Coisman
Stephanie Glass
Brooke Kerendian
Denise Montiel
Mason Cole
Susanne Glink
Kathy Kerney
Brenda Moore
Kristin Coleman
Mara Gloor
Michael Moore
Valerie Colletti
Lynne and Greg Gochanour*
Jacqueline Kinnaman and
Henry Bayer
Jill and Steve Gomberg*
Mita Goel
Charlene Kittredge
Elizabeth Connelly
Gail Golden
Nancy Knapp
Sue Anne Copeland*
Michael Golden
Laura Kofoid
Anne Edwards Cotter
Mona Golub
Joan and Richard Kohn
Judy Cottle
Andra Gomberg
Michelle Kohut
Lauren Crandall
Alison Gordon
James Kolstad
Jeff Cummings
Merle Gordon
Mark Ishaug and Micah Krohn
Barbara Flynn Currie
Ashley Grant
Linda Kroll*
Liz Czarnecki
Emily S. Greenberg
Susan Kruesi
Ann Darnton
Joanna Greene
Margaret Kruse
Catherine Dennis
Liz Gres
Tammy Kufahl
Carla Dennis
Kimberly Griffin
Amy Kurson
Jennifer DePriest
Janet Griffiths
Donald Laackman
Bernardo DeSimone
James Grimes
John Ladky
Jane Dewey
Rachel Gross
Karen Latimer
Amina Dickerson
Fran Grossman
Julia Lawant-Nelson
Vicky Dinges
Amy Gudgeon
Christine Leahy
Joyce and Paul Dlugosch*
Gayle Gustafson
Michael Leddin
Verna Donovan
Deborah Hagman-Shannon
Carolyn Leonard
Brittany Dorf
Anne Hamada
Phaedra Leslie
Kevin Driscoll
Andrea Hamlin
Karen Levin*
Lori Dube
Celeste Hammond
Lisa Levin
Ann DuBois
Dolores Hanna
Carol Lind
Donna Dudley
Lynn Harden
Brad Lippitz
Susanne Dumbleton
Timothy Harmon
Marilyn Lissner
Sarah Duncan
Stephanie Hart
Gretchen Livingston
Hillary Ebach
Deborah Minor Harvey
Karen Lobdell
Therese O’Connell Echeveste
Julie Hayes
Sara Loevy
Cynthia Emerson
Katie Hermann
Aphrodite Loutas
Stan and Mary Ferguson
Elizabeth Herrington
Marcena Love
Annette Findling
Rita Luce
Dr. Charles Frank and
Karen Peters
Sunny Fischer
Peggy Hillman and
Herbert Krist
Mary-Ann Lupa
Elizabeth Phillips
Brooke Fisher
Melissa Hilton
Mary Mackay
Jennifer Phillips
Delilah Flaum
Jean Hoffenkamp
Bertha Magana
Francie Pinkwater*
Toren Flink and Peter Kroll*
Halcolm Holliman
Judi Male
Lucille Pirri
Martin Fluhrer
Gail Holmberg
Barbara Manny
Anna Plaas-Sandy
Craig Foley
Jenny Hoobler
Elisabeth Marchant
Marcia Powers
Cheryl Francis
Mary Huber
Helen Marlborough
Sylvia Pozarnsky
Aaron Frankel
Alice Jacobs
Judy Marwick
Kendra Freeman
Ann and Jerry Jaeger*
Mary Marzullo
Barry Preston and
Eunice Valdivia*
Kristen Freund
Luz Jimenez
David Mathers
Mariadelmar Puentes
Twink Frey
Kathy Johnson
BeLinda Mathie
Thomas Pulver
Maya Friedler
Lisa Johnson
Elaine and Bill McCloud*
Nancy Quinn
Stephen Friedman
Patricia Johnson
Ann McCready
Lynne Radanovich
Marcia Fritz
Rosemary Jones
Kay McCurdy
Mary Raitt
Mia Furlong
Gwen Jordan
Lynn McGovern
Jennifer Rakstad
Ashlee Gabrysch
Margaret Jungels
Renee McMahon
Alison Ranney
Susan Galletti
Brandie Kadota
Marcia Medema
Mrinalini Rao
Matt Galo
Judith Kalfon
Michael Meshenberg
John Ratnaswamy
Carol Kane
Susan Meyer
Becky Raymond
Luz Mora
Jody Moran
Craig Mousin
Laurence Msall
Clare Munana
Judith Musick
Gail Myers
Katherine Nee
Jill Murch Nicholson
Aisha Noble
Paula Noble
Karin Norington-Reaves
Leslie North
Stephen and Ilene Novack*
Leighton O’Connell-Miller
Anne O’Connor
Elif Oker
Christine Olmstead
Olawande Olude
Kelly O’Malley
Kylie Oulahan
Jessica Paik
Debra Parker
Kristie Paskvan
Bina Patel
Alyx Pattison
Marva Paull
Mary Pearlman
Lois Pearson
Jody Perl
Steve Redfield and
Patricia Pippert
Deborah Stone
Holly Reed
Joanne Strong*
Mary Hutchings Reed
James Sugrue
Dawn Reese
K. Sujata
Rena Reiss
Anne Sullivan
Susan Ridihalgh
Jill Svoboda
Carol Rizzolo
Deborah Swambar
Kelly Roche
Helena Swanson-Nystrom
Ellyn Rosen
Abigail Sylvester
Leora Rosen
Carolyn Tatar
Carolyn Rosenberg
Pamela Tate
William Rosenberg*
Yvonne Tate
Heather Ross
Barbara and Robert Taylor
Marcia Ross
Karen Terry
John Rowe*
Elizabeth Thiele
Kim Rudman
Laura Thrall
Cathryn Ruggeri
Carole Thudium
Janet Rustigan
Tracy Treger
Mary Rychener
Julia Turk
Jane Sahlins
Helen Turley
Shira Saliman
Marcy Twardak
Kaarina Salovaara
Rachel Unruh
Joan Saltzman*
Caren Van Slyke
Carol and Emilio Santi*
Anne Vanderkamp
Kathleen Scallan
Amy Viellieu
Jessica Scheller
Faranak Vossoughi
Renee Schleicher
Gail Vuckovich
Carolina Schoonyoung
Jill Wahl
Susan Schwartz
Judith and Roger Wallenstein*
Michele Scott
Valerie Waller
John and Cheryl Seder*
Christina Warden
Mary Ann Sedey
Ellen Wartella
Linda Semel
Merrie Wartik
Kelly Shelton
Vanessa Weathersby
Susan P. Sherman
Sonia Weaver
Nancy Shier
Jerry Weber
Reeva Shulruff
Lynne Weber*
William Siavelis
Rebecca Wellisch
Jodi Silberman
Diana White
Susan Silver
Pamela Wilcox
Leslie Silverman
Laura Wilkison
Karen Singer
Brenda Williams
Prerna Singh
Rachel Williams-Newman
Anita Sinha
Mary Jane Wilson
Mindy Crandus Sircus
Janet Winningham
Rebecca Sive
Robin Wold
Ann Smith
Claudia Wolf
Christine Sobek
Cindy Wolfson
Sherry Sohn
Carolyn Yelton
Whitman Soule*
Lisa Young
Mary Beth Sova
Laurie Young
Lynn Spector
Jerrold Zoloto
Susan Straus
Investors for Change
Special thanks to our Investors for Change,
who make gifts of $1,000 or more annually.
Their support provides WE with the flexible
resources necessary to pursue the best
opportunities for change to benefit low-paid
working women.
“
Being an Investor is an
opportunity to pay it
forward and respond to
the real needs of working
women.
Susan Mendelsohn
”
Nancy B.Kreiter Advocacy Fund
Special thanks to donors to this fund which
supports WE’s work to strengthen federal
equal opportunity policies.
Generations Circle
Generations Circle members have included
Women Employed in their estate plans. Their
legacy will help ensure that all women of all
generations have meaningful opportunities to
achieve their aspirations for themselves and
their families.
“
I want to know that I did my
part in life to make sure that
working women’s voices
are heard. By making my
unrestricted bequest to
Women Employed, they will
remain a strong advocate for
women far into the future.
”
Janet Rotner
Judith Spry
Jessica St. Clair
Olivia St. Clair
Shirley Staffan
Nora Stapleton
Terrance Stevenson
Wilma Stevens
Susan Stiber
Marjorie Stinespring
+ Generations Circle
member
* Gifts to the
Nancy B. Kreiter
Advocacy Fund
For more information about these special
giving opportunites, visit womenemployed.org
or call 312.782.3902.
FINANCIALS
3%
Other Income
INCOME
18%
Foundations$1,625,631
Individuals
Corporations, Corporate Foundations207,656
Individuals407,116
9%
70%
Corporations, Corporate
Foundations
Foundations
Other Income
63,873
Total$2,304,276
79%
Programs
EXPENSES
Programs$1,740,225
Fundraising278,272
8%
Management
and General
Management
and General
13%
Total$2,207,560
189,063
Fundraising
STAFF
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Linda Ballard
Development Officer
Lauren Miller
Engagement Coordinator
Kate Boege
Nataly Barrera
Senior Policy Associate
Judy Miyashita
Senior Communications
Associate
Gabrielle Cummings
Elizabeth Cunneen
Director of Finance and
Administration
Shirley Perry
Network Administrator
Lydia Bueschel, Secretary
Deborah Golden, Vice Chair
Harriet Harty
Nicole Johnson-Scales
Fern Josephs
Starr de los Santos
Student Advocacy Coordinator
Ikhlas Saleem
Program Coordinator
Mary Kay Devine
Director of Community Initiatives
Sylwia Sokolowski
Database Coordinator
Kristin Ginger
Communications Coordinator
Yvonne Tate
Office Manager
Emily Greenberg
Development Officer
Christina Warden
Senior Program Manager
Melissa Josephs
Director of Equal
Opportunity Policy
Rebecca Wellisch
Director of Marketing
and Communications
Sarah Labadie
Senior Policy Associate
Clifton Williams
Complete the Degree
Lisa Rowe
Anne Ladky
Executive Director
Jenny Wittner
Associate Director
Deborah L. Thorne, Vice Chair
Lydia Stazen Michael
Director of Development
Anne Ladky,
Executive Director
Susan Mendelsohn
Ambar Mentor-Truppa
Iliana A. Mora
Tracie Morris
Lisa J. Pattis, Chair
Elena Robinson
Jacki Robinson-Ivy
Laurie Rompala
Teresa Soppet
Gloria M. Ysasi-Diaz, Treasurer
ADVOCACY COUNCIL
LEADERSHIP
COMMITTEE
Nidhi Chaudry
Amber Coisman
Gretchen Fitzgibbons
Ann McCready
Ambar Mentor-Truppa, Chair
Cindy Nguyen
Linnéa Sandström Lange
Abigail Sylvester
www.womenemployed.org
65 E. Wacker Place, Suite 1500
Chicago, Illinois 60601