Vanessa McDowell-Atlas Resigns as YWCA Madison CEO: Change Made
Seven years ago, Vanessa McDowell-Atlas became the first African American to lead the YWCA Madison.
Part 1 of 2
by Jonathan Gramling
Vanessa McDowell-Atlas is a home-grown Madisonian. She grew up in South Madison and served as Mt. Zion Baptist Church’s administrative assistant for many years before professionally heading to UW-Madison before joining the staff of the YWCA Madison, stepping up to the position of interim CEO before taking the plunge and becoming the permanent CEO seven years ago.
Last month, McDowell-Atlas announced that she would be stepping doen as the Y’s CEO and taking a position with Black Girl Ventures, a national non-profit that supports and finances Black female entrepreneurs.
When McDowell-Altlas took the position as CEO, she did so with eyes wide open. And so she took the counsel of the best people she knew, her parents.
“I had examples in my household of my mom who was a trailblazer in her own right of being the first person to lead the UW-Madison Multicultural Center,” McDowell -Atlas said. “In talking with her, we were sharing and I was talking to my parents as I would normally do when facing hard decisions. When I was trying to make up my mind about whether or not I wanted to pursue this permanently, I really struggled because one, I knew that I would be the first woman of color, first Black woman to lead this organization in its entire history, which is a heavy lift. And of course as Black women often do, I asked myself, ‘Am I enough? Can I do this job?’ There were a lot of questions I was asking myself at the time.
As we were talking, we realized that my mom was the same age I was at the time she was making the decision to move from the interim to the permanent center director. She was 38-years-old and trying to make that same decision. And so it was destiny. It was clear that to me at that point that I was supposed to do this and I was called to do this. And so because of that, I pursued it.”
McDowell-Atlas had also been checking the Y out as a staff person during those years when she wasn’t serving as a CEO. And so she continued to check it out internally and externally.
“I really was able to see the inside and feel the inside,” McDowell-Atlas recalled. “And there were things that didn’t feel so great for being a person of color working in this organization. I also wanted to hear in the community how we were known. In communities of color, they quickly told me that we were known as a white women’s organization. In serving people of color, leadership up to that point had been white for the most part and not really representing those folks whom we were serving. I was very intentional about wanting to make sure that communities of color specifically experienced us differently and that we began to represent the communities that we served.”
For the past seven years, McDowell-Atlas has been on a mission for the Y to feel safe for all people who have dealings with the Y all the way to the men and their dependents whom they house at their flagship building on E. Mifflin Street.
“I think we serve many folks from different backgrounds, including men and children because we have a shelter in this building that we have men and their children and families in,” McDowell-Atlas said. “And so, it’s just a broad stroke of the community that we serve. What I really want people to know and understand is that YWCA’s mission is to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. And that piece gets left off a lot of the times. We often get touted for eliminating racism and empowering women. But I always try to state the entire mission because I think it is important and it was intentional of us at the national level to implement that as our mission.
I think it is important too that it’s just not about looking different. It’s about being different and the experience of belonging and really trying to create an internal culture where we feel like we belong, no matter what your background is. It’s not that you are a quota, not that you are filling a space to say, ‘Okay, check it off. We have that particular background. But really, do you feel like you are a part of this family? Do you feel like you are a part of this culture?’ That has been really intentional for us to really build on our values of humanity, community, culture and restoration and really make sure that we are seeing each other’s humanity. I’m not saying that we are perfect. We have a ways to go in trying to represent as many backgrounds as we can and folks feeling like they are a part. But I will say that we are definitely not where we used to be.”
Probably the two programs that give the Y its greatest visibility are the Women of Distinction Awards, which have become increasingly multicultural and its Racial Justice Forum that it holds each fall. The Y has become a thought leader.
“I hear in the community that YWCA is seen and known as a thought leader in social justice and racial justice in the community and that makes me proud,” McDowell-Atlas said. “I think that I have been able to use my voice. When I first started, if I am being honest, I was very shy or timid with my voice. I’m an introvert by nature. And so to get my voice out there and speak was a major thing for me, something that I had to grow into. But I will say that the more that I speak and open my mouth, the more folks listen and really want to hear what I have to say on issues. And so I think that change has been powerful to see too, that I do have a voice and I do have something to say. And I have an invested interest in seeing my community that I grew up in be better. If I can speak and use my platform in any way to make strides to do so, that is what I try to do.”
The Y has operated a training facility in South Madison for many years. But it was located in a relatively inaccessible area on Greenway Cross on the fringe of South Madison. McDowello brought it front and center.
“Moving our training facility was intentional,” McDowell said. “At the time, my predecessor asked me to take on the project of moving the facility. Honestly, I would talk to her about that. We weren’t accessible. There was one bus that went there. There were no sidewalks. I asked, ‘Why are we actually back here?’ And so I started the journey of looking for another location. In that process, by the time I located the place on Park Street, I was coming into the interim role. And so, when I walked into the building — I had seen so many places all across Madison that I was like no, no no — from the outside, it looks smaller than it is. I thought it wasn’t going to work. But when I walked in, it felt, ‘This is it.’ Because of that very thing, I’m very passionate about South Madison. A lot of my upbringing was in South Madison. It always disheartens me to see the gentrification happening in South Madison. So I was like, ‘We have to find a way, one, to try to be a footprint against gentrification in South Madison by being in South Madison.’ I also wanted to be sure we were more accessible to our participants, that they could get to us and other resources in the area easily. It was very intentional. It is our major training facility.”
And McDowell-Atlas made sure that it would remain in the heart of South Madison.
“It was always my desire to own the building,” McDowell-Atlas said. “At the time, there didn’t really seem to be an opening. The owners weren’t interested in selling. And I just kept saying, ‘We’re going to own this building.’ And then it presented itself at the end of 2022. We were asked if we wanted to purchase the building. Thankfully, we had a blessing from MacKenzie Scott. We were able to use those dollars to purchase the building. And so as of December 2022, we owned the Empowerment Center.”