Amplify Madison Academy Launch

press release: YWCA Madison and Madison Community Foundation invite community members to join us May 10, 2:00 – 4:00 PM, at The Spark for the Amplify Madison Academy Launch event where all 12 teams of women awarded with an Amplify Madison grant will be featured and celebrated.

Amplify Madison funded collaborative projects to build skill, voice, and visibility for women working in the Madison region’s thriving nonprofit community. The Amplify Madison project has funded significant professional development opportunities for women from nonprofit organizations, with an emphasis on building partnerships between organizations. Building on new skills, the participants will develop community engagement activities for Madison audiences based on new knowledge, skills and experiences as gained through their projects. This innovative approach is nurturing cross-sector collaborations and community-wide conversations, while also giving women, and particularly women of color, opportunities that center and amplify their professional capabilities and voice in Madison.

“Madison Community Foundation works with hundreds of area nonprofits. This project helps amplify the voice and skills of women leaders and their agencies, increasing community collaboration and impact,” says Tom Linfield, Madison Community Foundation VP of Community Impact. “We are thrilled to work with YWCA Madison and fund this exciting project.”

The project emphasizes the journeys of transformation that every woman, as well as their teams, is embarking on. Event attendees will have the opportunity to meet most of the 35 women awarded, learn about their team projects at different stages of implementation, get information about community engagement activities open to the public, as well as have the opportunity to get to know each awardee, learn about their knowledge, skills and experiences for future collaborations. YWCA Madison’s CEO, Vanessa McDowell stated “We are very excited to host such a great opportunity to empower women in the Madison area. Our entire community will be enriched when we make it possible to build stronger relationships and have more diverse voices sharing knowledge”.

Amplify Madison Awardees for 2019 are (project teams in alphabetical order):

Black and Brown Women Unite to Heal - Libby Lee, Calandra Locatelli-Benson, Nancy Gómez (Briarpatch Youth Services).

CC for Change - Saran Ouk, Christina Outlay and Kia Stearn (conNEXTions, Colorcoded and Positive Women for Change).

Construction Workforce Diversity Alliance Tradeswomen Network - Michelle Bozeman, Jasmine Banks, Monica Caldwell (Urban League of Greater Madison, Operation Fresh Start, Latino Academy).

Dane Arts Mural Arts - Amy Zaremba, Emida Roller, Alicia Rheal (DAMA).

EMC²- De’Kendrea B. Stamps, Anglinia Washington, Britt Gottschalk (East Madison Community Center).

Hmong Women Leadership Project - Mai Zong Vue, Choua Her, Youhung (Moha) Her-Xiong (The Hmong Institute).

Neighborhood Organizing Network - Alix Shabazz, Nikki Conklin, Jeanice Franklin (Lussier Community Education Center, Wexford Ridge Tenant Working Group).

The Sista’s of Genesis - Lynetta Latham, Belinda Richardson, Brittany Neal (Hope Haven, The Road Home of Dane County).

Xicanas Poderosas con Una Misión - Silvia Gómez de Soriano, Marisela Gómez Castellanos, Josselin Ceballos de Santiago, (Xicanx Institute for Education and Self-Determination/East High School, [Re]Generación/Centro Hispano).

Awardees from the first cohort also featured at the event are: “The Empowering Three” – Alejandra Muñoz Contreras, Teresa Pape-Asumu and Yenny Juarez Reyes (Literacy Network); “Social Entrepreneurship on a Global Scale” – Roxie Hentz, Hewan Schade and Iris Lowery (CEO’s of Tomorrow, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin); and “Support Without Borders” - Lucia Ledesma, Virginia Escudero (YWCA Madison, Domestic Abuse Intervention Services).

Amplify Madison has been made possible with a $75,000 grant and additional funding from Madison Community Foundation (MCF). This grant is part of MCF’s 75th anniversary year of giving, continuing to strengthen the Madison community. For more information about the Amplify Madison Academy (awardees and team projects) please visit: https://www.ywcamadison.org/amplify-madison/

About Madison Community Foundation: Madison Community Foundation’s mission is to enhance the common good through philanthropy. Established as a community trust in 1942, Madison Community Foundation, together with donors, awards over $12 million every year to strengthen causes and communities in Dane County and around the world. Learn more at www.madisongives.org.

About YWCA Madison: YWCA Madison is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families and strengthen our community. YWCA Madison is part of an international movement serving over 2 million in the United States and 25 million worldwide. For comprehensive information about this important work, go to www.ywcamadison.org.