Hedi LaMarr Photography
Vanessa McDowell is worried that people are becoming complacent about racial disparities.
Vanessa McDowell worries that Madison residents are becoming inured to the stark racial inequalities that exist in their city. Those disparities have been meticulously detailed with much fanfare in the Race to Equity report, and yet, they persist.
“Now I think some people are getting tired. It’s no longer alarming, it’s no longer a crisis — and that to me is alarming because we still have work to do,” says McDowell. “We need to be bold about continuing that conversation. My vision is that we get rid of that tale of two cities, [so that] it’s not the haves and have-nots but there’s equity for all people here.”
McDowell hopes to keep the struggle for equity in the forefront as the new director of the YWCA Madison.
YWCA Madison is part of the national YWCA, one of the oldest women’s organizations in the country. The organization works to advance race and gender equity through building awareness, provides quality employment through job training and transportation assistance, and offers safe and affordable housing options around the city.
According to its 2016 annual report, just last year 702 people benefited from YWCA Madison housing programs, 385 people participated in job training and transportation programs, and almost 20,000 rides to work were given.
These programs and services are essential for Madison. But McDowell wants the organization to have a louder voice when it comes to fighting for equity and justice.
“It’s an opportunity to shift the organization in a different direction than we’ve been going,” says McDowell. “I’m appreciative of all the work we’ve done in the past, but I think we’re at a pivotal point to really look at how we’re offering services and how we’re really leveraging the voices of the people that we’re serving and making sure we’re doing what really serves folks.”
McDowell began working for the YWCA in 2014 as director of support services. The following year, she was promoted to chief programs officer. She’s been interim CEO since January.
But her connection with Madison runs deep. Her parents — both UW-Madison alumni — raised her and her brother on the west side of town. Many of their days were spent at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, immersed in the vibrant community McDowell still calls home.
Gloria Ladson-Billings, a professor at UW-Madison and an active member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, first met the McDowell family after moving to Madison 26 years ago.
“It was very clear to me from the beginning that she really had a heart for helping people,” says Ladson-Billings. “I think one of the things that Vanessa brings to this role is this incredible empathy that makes her an absolutely tremendous listener. The fact that young people have shared some of their most intimate struggles with her has to do with the perception that she’s actually listening and trying to determine how to help.”
McDowell hopes to connect the YWCA’s clients directly with city and state powerbrokers.
“We’re right across the street from the Capitol, we need to make sure that we’re lobbying and advocating for the folks that we serve on a policy level,” she says. “I’m very passionate about people speaking on their own behalf, and so I’m always looking for opportunities to bring participants to the table to ask them, ‘What is it that you need?’ ‘What can we do to serve you better?’ ‘What are the barriers that you’re facing and how can we figure this out?’”
Ruben Anthony, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Madison, has witnessed McDowell’s leadership style over the years as both a friend and a colleague.
“I believe that Vanessa is a leader who feels like she has a call to service — like it’s her mission to make a difference in the lives of women and other disadvantaged people in the community,” Anthony says. “She’s got wisdom beyond her age, and I think she’s the person for these times.”
McDowell will be the first woman of color to lead the 109-year-old organization. “I don’t think it’s any secret that having her as the face of the Y is important,” Ladson-Billings says. “There’s a celebration in the community — but it’s a shame that in 2017 we’re still counting people as firsts.”
For McDowell, being a first has created an awareness that Madison clearly has a long way to go before being truly equitable. But it also underscores how badly the YWCA is needed.
“You have to have a place where people feel like they can come and get the resources that they need, especially in political climates like this when we have no idea from day to day what’s happening,” McDowell says. “Providing some solace for people so they know that they have a place they can come that’s fighting everyday on their behalf is necessary.”
McDowell doesn’t expect the fight for equity to be an easy one, but is committed to it. “We’re always being challenged with racism in our city, the nation, everywhere, so it’s an ongoing battle that we’re up against every day. But if we can affect change in the people that we touch and serve, then I feel like we’ve done what we need to do.”
