Mary’s Pence new Executive Director, Emily Monroe, used to be a grantee! Back in 2013, Emily applied for a grant for Casita Copán, a community organization that she helped found in rural Honduras to support single mothers and their children through daycare services, educational support, and a women’s well-being program.
The programs developed at Casita emerged naturally, in response to the needs and desires of the mothers who brought their children to the organization’s day care center.
In the picture featured below of the Mary’s Pence 2015 calendar, Juana and Fanny, grandmother and mother, are learning to read. Women’s literacy was not part of Casita’s strategic plan, but Emily and her team listened to the needs of their community and added this program. Mary’s Pence validated this choice with a grant that provided women with a weekly meeting space where they could learn, share, and heal together.
“Leading Casita Copán in Honduras, I learned to accompany,” Emily says. “My role was not to tell the women who participated how to tackle the challenges they faced, but to listen and to help them collect the tools they needed to slowly chip away at the obstacles they faced.” Emily brings this experience to her new role as Executive Director of Mary’s Pence, joining a committed team that is passionate about supporting women in improving their lives and building stronger communities.
“What inspires me about Mary’s Pence is its collective spirit and its humility in knowing that we do not have the answers. Sometimes the best thing we can do is listen. Our programs are a testament to this spirit of accompaniment and what is possible when we accept that community leaders already know what needs to be done; they have just often been denied the resources to make change happen.”
