Where in the World is Women Employed?

5 min readFeb 25, 2025

It’s February! A month dedicated to love, history, and awareness. And while this month is often synonymous with flowers, cards, candy, and celebrating the love shared between friends and significant others, the Women Employed team proves that you can also show your love by advocating, educating, celebrating, and building power. This month, WE hosted financial wellness seminars, sipped cider while sharing WE’s mission with new audiences, attended Galentine’s Day gatherings, and celebrated the richness of Black history. We even traveled to the “Big Easy,” New Orleans, to present on the history of the ASPIRE Project and the creation of two Racial Equity and Inclusion initiatives for Illinois community colleges.

But the love fest doesn’t stop there! We invite you to join us as we continue to share our love beyond February at one of our upcoming events. So, make sure to read all the way to end to learn how to get involved.

For the Love of Building Credit

On Wednesday, February 5th, Women Employed’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Hub (WE Hub), in collaboration with the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), Chase, and Level Up, hosted For the Love of Building Credit — a financial wellness workshop at the Jane Addams Resource Center.

Designed to simplify the complexities of credit management, the workshop aimed to equip WE Hub users and Level Up participants with essential skills to build and maintain strong credit. Attendees gained insight into different types of credit, the impact of loans on credit scores, and strategies to safeguard their financial future.

Our returning speaker, Jared Evans, delivered an interactive and informative presentation on understanding and building credit. He broke down credit reports and scoring, shared practical tips on correcting errors, and guided attendees on starting their credit journey with confidence.

Despite a midweek schedule and potential inclement weather, we welcomed 20 engaged participants who actively contributed to discussions. Participants expressed frustrations with navigating the complexities of credit age versus total balances, as well as the varying standards of different credit bureaus. However, Jared’s approachable yet direct explanations helped bring clarity and ease to understanding credit.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to CHA, Chase, and the Jane Addams Resource Center for their invaluable support in making this event a success. Inspired by the positive feedback, we remain committed to putting together more workshops to equip our users with the knowledge needed to become successful entrepreneurs.

11th Annual Cider Summit Chicago

For the third year in a row, Women Employed was selected as the non-profit beneficiary at the 11th Annual Cider Summit Chicago on Saturday, February 8th! During the region’s largest hard cider tasting event, featuring local, regional, and international cider, mead, and fruit spirit producers, WE educated attendees about Women Employed’s work, the issues affecting working women, and how to get involved. A special thank you to WE staff and volunteers for helping to sell raffle tickets and making this event a success!

Galentine’s Day event hosted by EnCourage Coaching and The Collective Academy

WE’s Chief of Staff, Mary Kay Devine, attended a Galentine’s Day Soiree hosted by WE supporter, and The Working Lunch (TWL) Table Leader, Katie O’Malley, on Thursday, February 13th.

Katie and her co-host Emily Drake, CEO of The Collective Academy, brought an intimate group of clients and partners together for bubbles, cheese, and a quick course on how to decorate chocolate bonbons at Good Ambler.

Katie first connected to Women Employed at a 2020 International Women’s Day event at 1871, where she participated in an “Everyone Can Do Something to Advance Gender Equity” workshop facilitated by WE’s Executive Vice President of Policy, Programs, and Research, Sharmili Majmudar.

As the Founder and Principal Coach of EnCourage Coaching, Katie has worked alongside hundreds of individual, team, and organizational clients to design authentic career paths and courageous workplace cultures.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Black History Month Celebration

On Wednesday, February 19th, community leaders and city officials attended Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Black History Month celebration at the Chicago Cultural Center! WE’s Associate Director of Coalitions, Starr De Los Santos, represented Women Employed as eventgoers enjoyed performances by the Leo Catholic High School choir, honored past, present, and future Black leaders, and heard remarks from Mayor Johnson.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in Conversation with Ambassador Carol Mosley Braun

WE’s President and CEO, Cheria Ellens attended an intimate conversation with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Ambassador Carol Mosley Braun on Wednesday, February 19th. There, Justice Jackson discussed her recently released memoir, Lovely One, which chronicles her life story leading up her historic appointment as the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court.

National Organization for Student Success (NOSS) 2025 Conference

WE’s ASPIRE team―Christina Green, ASPIRE Senior Program Manager, and Lauren Wheeler, ASPIRE Program Specialist―presented at the National Organization for Student Success (NOSS) 2025 Conference in New Orleans on Saturday, February 22nd. Their presentation was titled “The ASPIRE Project and REI in Developmental Education Reform in Illinois,” and covered the history of the ASPIRE Project and the creation of two Racial Equity and Inclusion initiatives for 10 Illinois community colleges working on developmental education reform and implementation.