Women's Resource Center

The Women's Resource Center was started in 1975, following Title IX and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act among others, as a way to help women utilize the new educational, employment and financial opportunities available to them to support their own financial independence and overall well-being.

Our mission to is assist women and girls to successfully navigate difficult life transitions and inspire others to do the same. By providing tools, resources and support for today, we give hope for tomorrow.

We aim to reach clients before, during or after difficult challenges, to provide them with connections to the right resources, with peer and professional support, and with the necessary knowledge and skills, so that women and girls can thrive through life transitions, enhancing financial stability and well-being for themselves as well as their families.

WRC's board of directors set six areas of strategic direction for the organization:

1) Build and maintain strong leadership to expand capacity. Key initiatives completed include the following:
a) establishing a pipeline of strong board members by recruiting volunteers to serve on board committees prior to nomination to the board, and
b) Strengthening the new board member orientation.
Ongoing strategies for this goal include succession planning for board and committee leadership and ensuring diverse leadership.

2) Increase revenue and support to support growth in high demand services and programs. The two main strategies employed to date include:
a) strengthening the organization's individual giving program
b) identifying key funding partners who can provide sustainable support for core programs.
In addition, the organization is exploring earned revenue opportunities to support sustainable growth.

3) Maximize WRC's history of collaboration by prioritizing and expanding partnerships that will support the service growth goals. WRC has relied heavily on collaboration over the past 45 years, including partnerships with community service organizations; collaboration with local family attorneys in the delivery of pro bono legal consultation for low-income women; and collaboration with more than a dozen schools in the implementation of Girls Lead - a program that requires a school liaison within each school committed to fulfilling the role of the Girls Lead school partner.

4) Ensure that WRC's services are relevant and accessible for ALL women who need them, regardless of their circumstances. WRC's mission was updated by the board to focus on difficult transitions for women and girls - transitions such as job loss, divorce, and the challenges of adolescence. The mission was then translated into a Theory of Social Change which defines how outcomes will be measured. This document guides all program evaluation and development to ensure that the organization's resources are utilized effectively to accomplish the mission.

5)Enrich communication and engagement internally and externally to expand our presence in the community. In line with this strategic goal, WRC was able to hire a part-time Director of Development and Communications in November of 2019. This position has opened up new opportunities for social media and online communications, as well as press coverage.

6) Promote internal diversity and cultural competence to better serve the needs of more diverse communities. With the help of a grant from the Valentine Foundation's Visionary Leadership Fund, WRC was able to provide training for board, staff and direct service volunteers, as well as coaching for the Executive Director in the implementation of WRC's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Plan. A DEI Taskforce of board, staff and volunteers launched in late 2019 to ensure ongoing implementation of DEI strategies.

The Women's Resource Center relies heavily on a team of highly qualified, committed volunteers, led by a diverse and knowledgeable professional staff of six, and governed by a board of corporate and community leaders. WRC's Board includes executive and senior management professionals from companies such as Comcast, KPMG, Jefferson Health and JPMorgan as well as entrepreneurs, diversity & inclusion experts, and financial advisors.

The staff is led by Executive Director Cheryl Brubaker. With a graduate degree in Nonprofit Management and a BA in Social Work, Cheryl holds more than twenty years of non-profit experience, including executive administration, fund development, programming, and communications. Since joining WRC in November of 2016, Cheryl led the organization through the process of developing the Theory of Social Change in order to establish a laser focus on mission-related outcomes and prepare the organization for growth. In addition, she supported the board's fundraising efforts, enhancing the individual giving program and escalating grants. Under Cheryl's leadership, the organization's revenue increased, while the Girls Lead program increased by 40%.

Leading WRC's service delivery is Clinical Director Kai Qualls. Kai Qualls has over twenty years of experience in direct service, with an emphasis on counseling, training, education and case management. Under Kai's leadership, WRC's Resource Coordination & Counseling Services grew from 250 sessions annually to more than 1,000 sessions last year, and is still growing. Feedback from her clients has been overwhelming positive as she so effectively combines compassion ("Kai is like a walking hug!") and professional expertise ("After all these years, I feel like I am finally learning and as a result slowly healing.") Currently, Kai supervises one additional counselor, Rujuta Chincholkar Mandelia, and three graduate counseling interns.

WRC's greatest asset lies in the community-based nature of the development and structure of the organization. Over its 45-year history, thousands of women and men have volunteered on the Helpline, with the Family Law Program, as Girls Lead assistants, for fundraising events, on planning committees and on the board of directors. This network is called on in formal and informal ways to support the growth and development of the organization, from tapping into their networks for financial support to identifying professionals willing to donate their services to help clients in need. When WRC's largest fundraising event, the Annual Leadership Luncheon, was cancelled due to COVID-19, WRC's network rallied to provide emergency donations to make up the difference. When the pandemic began to have significant impact on WRC's clients, that same community donated funds for emergency rent assistance, grocery gift cards, gas cards, and a generous holiday gift drive. Within this community of supporters lies WRC's capacity for great impact.

Key accomplishments over the past several years include the following:

400% growth in Resource Coordination & Counseling Services, the program area that has been in greatest demand with an ongoing waiting list, with 100% of clients reporting progress in at least 3 outcome indicators.

40% growth in schools participating in the Girls Lead program with 98% of participants reporting improvement in communication skills, 96% reporting improvement in their conflict resolution skills, and 94% reporting improvement in decision-making and problem solving.

748 women were able to access pro bono legal consultation with help of more than 40 volunteer attorneys over the past three years.

3,426 Helpline calls and emails were served by a team of 20 Helpline volunteers and WRC's part-time Helpline Coordinator Debbie Bell, over the past 3 years.

In line with the strategies and goals noted above, "what's next" for WRC includes the following:

1) Continuing to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies into each of WRC's core services as well as board governance and fundraising, led by WRC's DEI Taskforce

2) Pursuing options for sustainable funding for Resource Coordination & Counseling, given the increased need for these services

3) Making Girls Lead accessible to schools that have identified girls with untapped leadership potential who could benefit from this program.

4) Exploring options for affordable family law representation (not just consultation) for women in our geographic region who cannot afford an attorney.