The Importance of Welcoming and Affirming Spaces
Written by Shade Jalo Last year, I wrote about what it means to be a gay young man working for the YMCA. I discussed how it had grown to become a home and family for me. It was easy to discuss something of that nature, but I think this year’s post might be a little […]
We Wear Blue on April 1
This April, we recognize National Child Abuse Prevention Month, an initiative rooted in communities working together to serve children and their families in meaningful, impactful ways that provide families what they need to thrive, even throughout adversity. Last year, an estimated 618,000 children were found to be victims of child abuse or neglect nationwide. The […]
Women in Leadership: Christin King
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” Ayn Rand Tweet Meet Christin King, an Oklahoma City transplant who joined the Y in 2021. Christin has worked in marketing and strategy for over a decade. While she loved building brands, she is excited about what the Y […]
Women in Leadership: Shannon Hiebert
“She believed she could, so she did.” R.S. Grey Meet Shannon Hiebert, Vice President of Human Resources here at the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City. Shannon joined the Y in December 2019. Before coming to the Y, she worked for Enterprise Holdings for almost 26 years as the Vice President of Human Resources for the […]
Women’s History at the YMCA
Despite the “Men’s” in our organization’s name, women have been part of the YMCA’s history for nearly our entire existence. The first Y was founded in London in 1844, and 24 years later, Ellen Brown (pictured above) was hired as the Secretary of the Boy’s Department. She would become the first female employee of the […]
