Women’s Leadership & Media Project Series: Graduation
Fourteen graduates, dressed mostly in shades of red or pink, entered the EILEEN FISHER clothing store in SoHo, New York City on a hot Monday evening earlier this month. Each woman radiated pride and excitement knowing that her hard work was on display that night at the graduation of the second cohort of the Women’s Leadership & Media Project (WLMP) — or, “Wulump”, as I prefer to say despite how much it annoys my colleague and project facilitator, Diana McHugh.
WLMP is an innovative response to the needs of WPA’s clients and the role they can play in promoting just, effective, and unique media and public policy. WPA sheds light on women’s issues within the criminal justice system by harnessing the power of storytelling and elevating the voices of those closest to the problem — because they, as the experts, are also closest to the solution.
Looking Back
Rosie and Rebecca, our hosts at EILEEN FISHER, opened the event in the same way they start their team meetings — with a moment of silence and carefully selected words to reflect upon: “If your actions create a legacy that inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are an excellent leader.” (Later, we discovered that these words of wisdom came from trailblazer and icon, Dolly Parton!)
When we started this class 12 weeks ago, few of our participants would have described themselves as leaders. In fact, we heard crickets when we asked for volunteers to practice thinking on their feet and speaking for two minutes.
However, that changed very quickly. In our first workshop, a few brave women shared their stories of personal and parental incarceration and addiction. Sharing their experiences was cathartic and hopeful, and spurred their classmates to do the same. By week two, a few more women cautiously volunteered to speak in front of the class, and by week 12, we had more volunteer speakers than we could accommodate at an hour-long graduation.
A few graduates who did not speak but wanted to share their reflections, wrote down their thoughts (you can read them here). Today, all of our graduates would describe themselves as leaders as well as advocates, change-makers, and storytellers. At graduation, Keisha recalled why she decided to participate in WLMP, stating, “It was something to do. But once I joined, I found out it was much more than just something to do. I found strength, hope, and dignity.”
Keisha also said, “We, as women, must stand together, not divided. There’s strength in numbers.” Fellow WLMP graduate Nefertiti also shared her takeaways from participating, declaring, “I do have a voice, and I can use this voice to make a change.”
WPA sheds light on women’s issues within the criminal justice system by harnessing the power of storytelling and elevating the voices of those closest to the problem — because they, as the experts, are also closest to the solution.
Because It Takes A Village
We would like to acknowledge everyone who helped make this project possible. Thank you to our incredible partners and volunteers for giving their time, expertise, goodies, and dollars to make WLMP a success!
· EILEEN FISHER for sponsoring this program and hosting our graduation.
· Mic Media for welcoming us into your offices and inspiring us to share our stories with honesty and authority.
· Dia & Co for styling our graduates and providing professional clothing for media and employment opportunities.
· Cupcake Market for donating delicious cupcakes for our weekly workshops.
· Mentors for providing personalized and ongoing support to our graduates.
· Volunteers and WPA staff for providing your expertise in trauma-informed storytelling, educating us on our rights and responsibilities, taking professional headshots for media and employment, and for creating a safe, supportive, and transformative learning environment for our participants.
What our graduates have done so far:
In the five months since this project launched, participants have given 13 media interviews for outlets such as VICE, NYC Lens, and The Marshall Project on topics including the conditions at Rikers, mental healthcare in prison, and the Adoption and Safe Families Act.
They have participated in four expert panels, served as keynote speakers at two fundraising and awareness events, and made two trips to Mic Media where they engaged in thoughtful discourse around women and the criminal justice system with Mic writers, editors, and other key staff responsible for creating news.
Collectively, the WLMP graduates’ stories have reached over 135 million readers across the United States. They have inspired donations, volunteers, and more news stories as reporters and readers become invested in their accounts, opinions, and desire to reform a broken system. As WPA’s Executive Director, Georgia Lerner, puts it, “the women of WLMP are opening and changing minds.”
What you can expect from our graduates:
In a nutshell, you can expect change. Just ask one of our graduates, Deneise, who is passionate about addressing the root causes of crime:
“Prison and jail should be a last resort. Instead, we should use alternatives to incarceration to help women with healthcare, housing, and other issues.”
Honest discussion and realistic solutions like this come from women who have experienced the criminal justice system firsthand. WPA employs 172 years of direct service expertise to implement those solutions. We know that women need support to address a multitude of issues that lead to arrest: unstable housing, histories of trauma, addiction, mental illness, and parental stress. The best way for the community to understand what these issues look like, and to help, is to listen to the stories of those who have experienced them and support the solutions they propose.
As the graduation came to a close, Georgia left the audience with a final message: “I believe strongly that programs like WLMP strengthen our families, make our neighborhoods safer, and, in general, promote more just policies and practices — all without the use of jail or prison.”
Rebecca Pak is the Director of Institutional Giving at the Women’s Prison Association.
