YWCA Northeast Kansas and Community Action Partner to Hire Racial Justice and Advocacy Director
YWCA Northeast Kansas and Community Action are proud to announce and welcome Regina Platt as their Racial Justice and Advocacy Director. This newly created position is a result of the agencies’ desires to address racial justice in a collaborative way that maximizes resources. The project follows the YWCA’s successful 21-Day Racial Equity and Social Justice Challenged conducted in March of 2021 that saw over 830 registrants from across the area participate in this innovative social justice educational program.
“At Community Action, we fight poverty,” explained Tawny Stottlemire, the agency’s Executive Director. “Lower income
community members have self-identified how acutely racism and social bias damage opportunities for economic success. There is no question that racial equity and our community’s health are intrinsically linked. Community Action is delighted to partner with the YWCA to provide further attention and education towards a better future.”
Platt will be supporting this collaboration by planning and overseeing the 2022 21-Day Racial Equity and Social Justice Challenge which helps create dedicated time and space to build more effective social justice habits.
“Regina is a leader in promoting and facilitating racial equity and social justice work. We are confident in her expertise and leadership to drive YWCA’s work of gender equity, racial equity, and community education through meaningful systems change in the greater Topeka community”, said YWCA CEO Kathleen Marker.
About Regina
Previously, Platt was the Advocacy 101 Instructor, Paraprofessional, and Restorative Practitioner at Lawrence Gardner High School for 10 years. Regina is a trained Restorative Practitioner, Public Speaker, and One on One Coach with education in Business Administration. Regina has a unique background working with individuals with mild to severe disabilities, primarily in therapeutic, corrections, and educational environments. In addition, Regina serves as a Facilitator for Topeka United equipping Mosaic Partner Pairs to step forward successfully. Finally, she effectively facilitates training, healing, and community-building circles locally and nationally through KIPCOR and NACRJ.
“I believe that each of our differences makes the difference as we work together to restore, revive, and unite communities. I look forward to putting my passion in service of the vision of YWCA and Community Action to create a healthy, vibrant, and equitable community”, Platt stated.
Community Action’s 10-month investment also provides for a Community Assessment and future-planning for carrying out additional racial justice and advocacy work beyond the challenge that will be led by the Racial Justice and Advocacy Director. YWCA Northeast Kansas will be carrying out strategic fundraising to continue funding this work beyond the initial phase during this time.
About YWCA Northeast Kansas:
YWCA Northeast Kansas is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all through various programs including the Early Learning Center, the YWCA Center for Safety and Empowerment, the YWCA Leadership Academy, and racial justice and advocacy programming which served over 14,900 women, children, and individuals in Shawnee, Jackson, Brown, and Wabaunsee counties in 2020.
About Community Action:
Community Action helps people move from poverty towards prosperity. The multi-county, non-profit agency provides a wide variety of direct customer supports, including early childhood learning, affordable housing, whole family empowerment, and basic needs assistance. Community Action is an advocate for low-income people and the communities in which they live.