Mikena VanLiere - EmBe

100-Year Sunday Story: Supporting Women from Around the World since 1920

Mikena VanLiere2022-07-15T14:49:11-05:00

YWCA’s All Nations Club In 1921 the Emergency Quota Law was passed by the US Congress. This law established the United States’ first numerical limit on the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States. A year after this law passed, the Sioux Falls YWCA created the All Nations Club – a club founded to support new women citizens. Many new citizens felt homesick and lonely, unsure how to engage in American culture. This club aimed to celebrate the members’ home countries while teaching them about the American way of life. Each meeting would center around a different topic. [...]

100-Year Sunday Story: Supporting Women from Around the World since 1920Mikena VanLiere2022-07-15T14:49:11-05:00

EmBe CEO Column: July 2022

Mikena VanLiere2022-07-15T12:54:03-05:00

Dare to Raise, Rise2Raise “They’re just like us.” That’s the recurring thought of this past month at EmBe. It was the first thought that came to my mind as I sat in a circle of past and present board members recently. The statement’s on repeat, in my mind and out loud, as we peruse the pages of our 100-year-old history. My heart races at any discovery that triggers it and my spirit dances with each jaw-dropping move made by our sisters and allies of the past. If you can’t tell, we’re uncovering our history from the pages of scrapbooks that [...]

EmBe CEO Column: July 2022Mikena VanLiere2022-07-15T12:54:03-05:00

100-Year Sunday Story: Typical Girl Does Boy’s Job

Mikena VanLiere2022-07-10T15:58:59-05:00

As part of our 100th anniversary, EmBe is highlighting powerful women from our past! These women remind us to be courageous and strong in our lives, and to follow our passions, even when others are against us. This week’s spotlight is on Diane Powell– a member of the YWCA from the 1940s! On September 2, 1947, Diane Powell became Sioux Falls’ first woman sports editor for a high-school paper. Because of this (and many other achievements), the YWCA named her the Y-Teen representative of the city. She traveled to many cities with this title and connected with other YWCA members. [...]

100-Year Sunday Story: Typical Girl Does Boy’s JobMikena VanLiere2022-07-10T15:58:59-05:00

EmBe Announces Plans for its 100 Year Celebration

Mikena VanLiere2022-06-28T21:06:07-05:00

Stephanie Land, the author of the New York Times Bestseller turned Netflix series Maid, will provide a keynote on September 28 to honor the organization’s 100-year-old mission of empowering women, children, and families of the Sioux Empire. Sioux Falls, SD (June 23, 2022) –EmBe, the oldest and largest women’s organization in the region, will celebrate its centennial through a series of events beginning with the organization’s first-ever girls’ summit, Rise2Raise, on August 10 and culminating with a keynote by New York Times Bestselling author Stephanie Land at its celebration event on September 28 at the Washington Pavilion. The nonprofit organization [...]

EmBe Announces Plans for its 100 Year CelebrationMikena VanLiere2022-06-28T21:06:07-05:00

Spotlight: EmBe Summer Interns

Mikena VanLiere2022-06-20T11:27:58-05:00

Spotlighting EmBe’s Summer Interns Summer brings a new crop of interns to our organization, and we wasted no time getting to know them. With so many questions and much less time, we narrowed this Q&A to five questions and let their insightful answers speak for themselves. While we already know how our mission may seed success in their life, we’re also uncovering their desire to sew their seeds into our communities. Without further ado, meet EmBe’s 2022 Summer Interns! Tell us a bit about yourself: Aybree: I am 22 years old, and I recently started working as the interim School [...]

Spotlight: EmBe Summer InternsMikena VanLiere2022-06-20T11:27:58-05:00

The CEO Column: June 2022

Mikena VanLiere2022-06-20T11:10:38-05:00

Finding Hope Here We remember how much a human can bear in the wake of unthinkable tragedy. Every parent who celebrated the start of summer held the joy of their child’s achievement in tandem with the shared grief of parents in Texas. Every parent who dropped their child off for daycare bore the weight of uncertainty as each child who’s completed an active shooter drill may understand the uncertainty each day may hold. Couple the weight of our shared reality with the prolonged sense of uncertainty we’ve experienced over the last two years and the burden of these experiences may [...]

The CEO Column: June 2022Mikena VanLiere2022-06-20T11:10:38-05:00

EmBe Celebrates Renovated Boutique and Professional Development Center

Mikena VanLiere2022-05-24T12:56:01-05:00

EmBe Celebrates Renovated Boutique and Professional Development Center The renovation and relocation project is now complete, giving new life and purpose to 27,000 square feet in downtown Sioux Falls, S.D. Sioux Falls, SD (May 19, 2022) –EmBe will celebrate the completion of a large-scale renovation and relocation project, marking a new era of women’s programming for the century-old nonprofit. Commencing in February, the project included the transformation of 27,000 square feet in EmBe’s downtown facility and relocation of the Dress for Success Sioux Falls Boutique. The renovation was completed earlier this month with Fiegen Construction at the helm. With credit [...]

EmBe Celebrates Renovated Boutique and Professional Development CenterMikena VanLiere2022-05-24T12:56:01-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Kelly Ballew – Chief of Staff

Mikena VanLiere2022-05-24T08:39:16-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Kelly Ballew - Chief of Staff Just as EmBe can be many things to many people throughout a lifetime, our stakeholders interact with our century-old mission through a variety of programs and roles throughout their EmBe journey. We call it the Circle of Empowerment. Whether participants become donors or volunteers who become team members, everyone we touch finds a way to impact our organization and the individuals we serve positively. While our Chief of Staff is no exception to this rule, Kelly Ballew’s story is exceptional, and we’re finding more than one circle within it. Although Kelly joined our leadership [...]

Staff Spotlight: Kelly Ballew – Chief of StaffMikena VanLiere2022-05-24T08:39:16-05:00

The CEO Column: May 2022

Mikena VanLiere2022-05-04T15:16:37-05:00

Securing the Next Century of EmBe’s Impact Over the last 100 years, EmBe has been on a mission to empower women, children, and families to enrich lives. In 1922, our founders were the first to recognize the power of women gathering. They established an organization focused on women’s voices, work, and ability to solve community issues together. We weren’t just the first to offer women a dedicated place in the community. We are also the first to shelter battered women, the first to pay tribute to their impact, and the first to advance their children’s care by piloting preschool in [...]

The CEO Column: May 2022Mikena VanLiere2022-05-04T15:16:37-05:00

EmBe Announces the 49th Annual Tribute to Women Award Winners

Mikena VanLiere2022-04-26T11:29:20-05:00

Micki Lundin (Avera Health) and Mark Blackburn (Augustana University and Establishing Sustainable Connections) were the 49th Annual Tribute to Women emcees. EmBe Announces the 49th Annual Tribute to Women Award Winners Sioux Falls, SD (April 26, 2022) –Nine honorees were selected out of 63 nominations for the 49th Annual Tribute to Women Awards at the Sioux Falls Convention Center on April 21. As the longest-standing award ceremony honoring women in our region, the historic event honored the impact of women, men, and businesses in the Sioux Empire, and raised funds to sustain the mission of the century-old organization. [...]

EmBe Announces the 49th Annual Tribute to Women Award WinnersMikena VanLiere2022-04-26T11:29:20-05:00

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About Mikena VanLiere