Supporting LGBTQ+ youth is more important now than ever, given the numerous challenges they often confront, impacting their mental health, safety, and overall well-being.

This month, Kristi Matthews-Jones, Director of the DC Girls’ Coalition, and Erin Whelan, Executive Director of SMYAL (Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders), joined us to discuss the transformative advocacy work each of their organizations are leading to improving the livelihood of LGBTQ+ youth living in the Washington metropolitan region.

During this conversation, we explored critical issues that disproportionately affect these youth, including mental health struggles, safety concerns, housing challenges, and discrimination. We also highlighted practical strategies parents, families, and communities can use to foster supportive and inclusive environments.

Tamara Wilds Lawson, President and CEO of Washington Area Women’s Foundation, moderated this session.

*ASL Interpretation was provided*

Support The Women’s Foundation today! Your contribution will play a vital role in helping us continue supporting initiatives that benefit young women and gender-expansive youth in our community. 

Collaborative funding models leverage resources from national and local foundations and philanthropists to strategically address community needs and foster cross-system collaboration. By pooling funds, these models bridge resource gaps and ensure a more coordinated approach to tackling challenges.

The Early Care and Education Funder’s Collaborative (ECEFC), housed at Washington Area Women’s Foundation, exemplifies this collective effort. Supported by corporate funders, individuals, and family foundations, ECEFC operates with a multi-million-dollar budget to enhance the quality, capacity, and accessibility of early care and education in the Washington, D.C. region.

Abriana Kimbrough, our Early Care and Education (ECE) program officer, serves as a liason between the collaborative and grant recipients. Working closely with ECEFC co-chairs Julia Lipton and Carmen Wong, she ensures that funding aligns with priority areas within early care and education.

Recently, we sat down with each of these co-chairs, who completed their terms as co-chairs for the group, to learn more about their experiences.

Julia Lipton

Title: Program Officer

Organization: Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation

Years served on the ECEFC: 1.5 years

Carmen Wong

Title: Program Director

Organization: The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation

Years served on the ECEFC: 5.5 years

What inspired you to join the ECEFC as a co-chair? 

The following interview is with Rachael Deane, CEO of Voices for Virginia’s Children

Voices for Virginia’s Children champions public policies and legislation that achieve positive and equitable outcomes for young people. The organization drives action through data-driven research and recommendations, focusing on overlooked children’s needs in areas like early childhood, foster care and adoption, health and mental health, and family economic security.

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your organization?

Rachael: Voices for Virginia’s Children is the Commonwealth’s only independent, multi-issue child policy and advocacy organization. We are home to Virginia’s KIDS COUNT data center, which includes more than 200 state- and locality-level indicators on child well-being over time. Using this data and our independent policy research, we determine unmet needs and threats to child well-being across Virginia, recommend sound policy solutions, provide objective input to policymakers, and educate and mobilize leaders and concerned citizens to support policy initiatives.

I joined Voices last October after several years as a children’s rights attorney. I already knew about Voices’ excellent advocacy in the Virginia General Assembly, and it was an honor to join the team.

What inspired you to pursue your organization’s work, and what continues to motivate you in your work today?

Rachael: My grandmother was an early childhood educator, and my first job was as a teacher’s assistant in her center. I was drawn to children’s advocacy in law school and spent time as a student attorney in my school’s education rights clinic. After spending several years as a housing advocate, everything came full circle when my first child was born. After a traumatic birth and postpartum period, I knew I wanted to return to child advocacy.

What have been some of the most rewarding experiences you’ve had while working with your organization?

Rachael: Last year, Voices launched our new youth advocacy and leadership development program, Virginia’s Youth in Action. It has been incredibly rewarding to spend time with these young people and their parents and to learn about their big dreams for a brighter future.

In what ways has your organization grown or evolved since its founding?

Rachael: Voices recently expanded our work to include more young people, moving from a focus on children ages 0-18 to all young people up to age 24. This shift reflects what the latest research tells us about brain development from birth through adolescence and young adulthood. Much like early childhood, adolescence is an important developmental period when the brain is open to learning and growing, and it is a time when young people are establishing their identities and taking on new life responsibilities. We will continue our longstanding work in early childhood education, foster care, and school-based mental health supports while acknowledging that youth extends well beyond age 18. We are quite interested in the concept of a unified youth policy agenda that will ensure the needs of all young people–and their families–are met.

How has your organization maintained a sense of purpose and focus on its impact, and what effect do you hope your organization will have in the long term?

Rachael: Our policy networks across the state keep us in touch with community members and families with lived experiences in many of the systems we seek to change. Learning from lived expertise helps us maintain our sense of purpose and focus on impact. In the long term, I hope we will continue to make a place for youth at the table of policy change.

If you could describe your organization using one adjective, what would it be?

Rachael: Plucky

How do you like to unwind or spend your leisure time?

Rachael: I love to unwind outdoors, whether it’s taking a long walk while listening to one of my favorite podcasts, swimming with my children, or just sipping coffee on the porch.

Learn more about Voices for Virginia’s Children and their work here!

Our #AskHer series is an interview series featuring gender-expansive leaders, as well as Washington Area Women’s Foundation’s partners, community members, and supporters who work tirelessly to advocate for and serve women and girls of color throughout the Washington metropolitan region. Each curated conversation seeks to shine a light on the organization and the leader and the work being done in our community and for women, girls, and gender-expansive people of color.

The following interview is with Cynthia Davis, Executive Director at DC Family Child Care Association

DC Family Child Care Association works to educate and provide advocacy efforts for family child care educators through building strong professional connections by enhancing the lives of family child care professionals and families they serve.

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your organization?

Cynthia: I am Cynthia Davis, founder and CEO of Kings & Queens Child Care Center and Executive Director of the DC Family Child Care Association (DCFCCA).

DC Family Child Care Association is a non-profit advocacy organization that primarily provides family child care teachers and the families they serve with support, training, and education concerning products and services needed to succeed in the education industry.

What inspired you to pursue your organization’s work, and what continues to motivate you in your work today?

Cynthia: What inspired me to pursue this work is my faith in God, and when he spoke to me and said to me tell my story, they will listen, and I will always be with you. Also, what continues to motivate me is the support and encouragement from my colleagues to Speak up.

What have been some of the most rewarding experiences you’ve had while working with your organization?

Cynthia: The most rewarding moments of working at the organization are the testimonials from my colleagues about how I changed them in business and by giving them the courage to speak up for themselves.

In what ways has your organization grown or evolved since its founding?

Cynthia: We have grown into a respected and valued organization that has evolved as a local leader in advocacy for Family Child Care.

How has your organization maintained a sense of purpose and focus on its impact, and what effect do you hope your organization will have in the long term?

Cynthia: We have maintained our sense of purpose and focus by staying true to our cause of equity for Family Child Care/Home-based businesses. The long-term impact we hope for is the inclusion of Family Child Care in all funding streams regarding children’s development in early care.

If you could describe your organization using one adjective, what would it be and why?

Cynthia: Adaptive, because in Family Child Care, you always have to deal with diverse situations and be capable of maintaining a solid presence in the childcare advocacy space with limited resources.

How do you like to unwind or spend your leisure time?

Cynthia: I like to unwind by going to the spa, spending time with my friends, taking naps, and watching movies with my family.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us or want people to know?

Cynthia: I want people to know that advocacy is just telling your story through personal experiences.

Learn more about the DC Family Child Care Association, here!

Our #AskHer series is an interview series featuring gender-expansive leaders, as well as Washington Area Women’s Foundation’s partners, community members, and supporters who work tirelessly to advocate for and serve women and girls of color throughout the Washington metropolitan region. Each curated conversation seeks to shine a light on the organization and the leader and the work being done in our community and for women, girls, and gender-expansive people of color.