Tina Herrera ↘

Our 2023 keynote speaker and YWCA USA board president, Tina Herrera, acknowledged the wisdom of taking a moment in our chaotic lives to just be, to connect with our life purpose and “unique journey on earth.”

She recommended we all listen more to young women, a population she characterized as true to what they believe, who question “our generation’s way of life and our endless pursuit of the next accomplishment.”

She urged a third wave of the feminist movement, one that values “affordable child care, paid family and medical leave…paid safe leave, expanded child tax credits, and trauma-based support for survivors of gender-based violence.”  Removing obstacles like a lack of childcare make it possible for all women and girls to thrive.

Finally, she called for education to ensure the voices of women and women of color “are represented at the highest levels of government and society.”  More women in positions of power and as decision makers at community, national and institutional levels will lead to “more inclusive policies, laws, and practices that protect and contribute to gender equality at all levels.”

Throughout her presentation she shared photos and experiences from her extraordinary career (which included shuttling her experiments to the Russian Space Station on Atlantis as a NASA engineer) and from her longtime involvement with the YWCA. This afforded opportunities like visiting the New York Stock Exchange for the 2018 launch of the YWCA exchange-traded fund “WOMN” and attending a 2022 groundbreaking to rebuild the YWCA New Orleans destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

In Tina’s long and varied journey with the YWCA, it’s clear that the challenges facing women and girls across generations are central to her life purpose and that she sees YWCA as the organization with the heart and resilience to address these challenges.