A conversation with the YWCA’s Dr. Cheryl Watkins

When Dr. Cheryl Watkins took over as the St. Louis YWCA’s president and CEO last summer, she knew the organization’s storied history. She was versed in its origins as a safe haven for rural women traveling to the region to work at the 1904 World’s Fair. She respected how, in the 1940s, it merged two branches to become racially integrated long before it was common or expected. “I’ve been a board member,” Watkins says, “so I thought I understood the Y. I understood what it was doing from a very surface level. But it was not until I really got into the organization that I understood the depth of what the Y provides.” Today, the YWCA continues to offer safe housing for women and works to advance racial justice, among other causes. With a background that spans medicine and business—along with experience in the public and private sectors—Watkins is poised to continue the YWCA’s long tradition of elevating women.

You started your career as a podiatrist. Why did you leave medicine? I went into medicine for the same reason most physicians do: altruism. But I’ve always been a curious learner. In the 1990s, as health care was changing and becoming more business oriented, I thought it would be beneficial to get my MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management to better understand the business side. When I went to business school, I loved strategy. It’s shades of black, white, and gray. You can’t do gray in medicine. So throughout my career, being in situations where I can create has always attracted me.

What are the biggest challenges facing women here? The first is economic sustainability. We want to put people on the path toward economic prosperity through workforce development and entrepreneurship. That’s what I’m looking at: How do we put people into career paths that are excelling? It’s not just, Let me go get a job. It’s, How do I change? How do I change my family dynamics? Through our partnerships in the community, and our ability to connect women with local agencies and educational opportunities, we have the ability to put folks onto these paths where they can go and create their own destiny.

What are the most surefire paths to sustainability in St. Louis? I see great opportunities for women to connect with all of the resources here and build their own businesses or get into markets that are significantly growing. We want to provide that social ladder, so folks can get their certification or degree and not fall through the cracks.

Along those lines, what’s one of the biggest barriers? The biggest thing that’s keeping a lot of women from going back into the workforce is a lack of adequate child care. Our child care options are not just where kids are staying for two hours. They’re full days, and they’re learning opportunities. By filling those child care gaps, we’re providing pathways to sustainability.

There are lots of organizations that help women and children. What separates the YWCA? All of the wraparound services that we provide. We are the largest Head Start provider of direct services in the state and the second-largest grantee across four states. We also focus on services for women who are in crisis; they’re homeless or fleeing domestic violence situations, or have had horrific issues with sexual assault. We partner with hospitals and police departments, and we’re often the first point of contact for many of these women. We are also wrapping these women with life coaching and financial tools. 

What about you—what’s your biggest challenge? Sleeping. My brain is always engaging with the question: How can we create more impactful opportunities? I’m reaching out to other YWCAs to see what they’re doing. If there are other organizations that are doing something impactful, I want to meet them. I’m looking at what’s out there and asking, How can we offer better services?