Local Women Offer Perspectives on Hope and Healing

The 2022 Women’s History Month theme is providing healing, promoting hope. Join us as women in Forsyth County discuss what this means locally.

I WAS RAISED BY A SINGLE MOTHER … who also happened to be both a social worker and family attorney. Despite her professional accomplishments, she is as much of an inspiration for me now as a retiree as she has ever been. Her love for knowledge, people and community greatly influenced me and my decision to pursue a career in libraries. How she has lived her life has taught me, my siblings and others to “hope for the best and heal instead of stress.”

As we prepare to celebrate Women’s History Month 2022, for which the theme is Providing Healing, Promoting Hope, I am honored that these four local women have agreed to share their perspective and insights about how we as people and community can continue to come together and thrive, particularly as we seek to put the greatest and deadliest pandemic of our lifetimes in our rearview mirror.

My hope is that as you read their responses in this Q&A, you will find inspiration and perspective that helps you find hope and healing in your life. Please also consider joining us as these women and other participants gather for a Women’s History Month Celebration and panel discussion on Thursday, March 24.

— BRIAN HART, library director

Suzanne C. Danhauer , Ph.D

DIRECTOR, FACULTY WELL-BEING & RESILIENCE, DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HEALTH POLICY,WAKE FOREST SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

How long have you been with your current organization and what do you enjoy most about what you do?

I have worked for the Wake Forest School of Medicine (WFSM) since 2003. I came here directly from my fellowship at Stanford. I have appreciated the collaborative environment working in the WFSM. I have had the opportunity to do many different things over the past 18 years. One of my favorite parts of my work is the opportunity to mentor faculty (both physicians and researchers), fellows, and students.

How long have you been a resident of the Winston- Salem/Forsyth County community?

Eighteen-and-a half years. I moved here from the West Coast with my husband. All four of our sons were born here.

In what ways have you seen the community evolve during your time here?

More locally-owned restaurants and coffee shops. A much more vibrant downtown. The development and growth of the Innovation Quarter. My office is in the 525@Vine building. I feel so lucky that I work in this beautiful space and have Bailey Park right outside the front door and a greenway outside the back door.

How do you think the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted life here in Forsyth County? How has it specifically impacted your organization and work?

One of the major impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic here in Forsyth County (and across our whole country) has been high levels of stress and rising levels of mental health issues.

COVID-19 has impacted healthcare organizations in profound ways as our physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers have worked tirelessly to care for patients in the midst of such high need. COVID-19 has contributed to rising levels of stress and burnout in healthcare providers. The pandemic has impacted my work by creating opportunities to provide resources and offer presentations around stress, mental health, wellbeing, and self-care.

What does health and wellness look like for you?

I’ll start by saying that much of my work focuses in this area and I really prefer the term well-being to wellness as it implies a broader sense of how well we are doing in the multiple facets of our lives. Personally, I love to walk and be out in nature (often with my hound dog), practice yoga, ride my bike around Salem Lake, connect with close friends, and cook. I tend to recharge with time and space for quiet and solitude.

How can we encourage healthy environments in our workspaces and our lives?

No 24-hour “on” culture. We need to be able to set down our phones and our e-mail to let our brains shut off.

I think a key part of encouraging a healthy environment is to appreciate people. Taking time to notice the good that people contribute in so many ways fuels all of our ability to keep going and to do a great job.

We can encourage movement breaks. These movement breaks can take place anywhere, though — inside or outside. I think the combination of moving and taking a break from our work is a great reset.

As the theme for Women’s History Month is promoting healing and hope, are there words of encouragement or wisdom that you have for our readers?

We live in polarized times where sometimes people are quick to make judgements or voice their opinions freely. I think that we need to consider that just about everyone is facing (or will face) challenges that others do not know about, and that we need to treat one another with greater compassion, kindness, patience, and empathy.

How can we help make the community here in Winston- Salem/ Forsyth County a healthier place for women? Support and mentor one another. Build one another up and show off each other’s accomplishments. There is room for all of us to succeed.

Magalie Yacinthe

FOUNDER, HUSTLE

How long have you been with your current organization and what do you enjoy most about what you do?

As one of the founders, I’ve been with HUSTLE since our inception in 2016. This is when we were still in the planning and development phase. What I enjoy most is advocating to change systems that ultimately impact people that look like me, be that a person of color and/or a woman.

How long have you been a resident of the Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County community?

Eleven years.

In what ways have you seen the community evolve during your time here?

There are more people willing to have the hard conversations to move our community towards progress. This is an evolution that I noticed post-George Floyd.

As the theme for Women’s History Month is promoting healing and hope, are there words of encouragement or wisdom that you have for our readers?

Women carry society on our backs. Women of color, in particular, do this with a double edge sword. Black women, specifically, continue to do this while being unprotected and disrespected. I put this reminder on the mind of readers to encourage each of you to check the data. The data shows Black women, women of color, and women in general leading [everything], all while carrying society on our backs. Respect the data. Respect women.

How can we help make the community here in Winston- Salem/Forsyth County a healthier place for women?

Women’s health is typically centered around maternal and reproductive health, with good reason. However, we can make WSFC a healthier place for women by understanding and responding to ideas from rural health care to transportation that also impact women’s health.

How do you think the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted life here in Forsyth County? How has it specifically impacted your organization and work?

The social life has slowed down even more, especially for minority millennial populations. This can be seen by the lack of social activity from groups like Millennial Night during the pandemic in an effort to keep everyone safe. Like many others, we were forced to move to virtual with our programming which has allowed us to serve more people, even beyond Winston-Salem.

Besides the pandemic, are there other challenges that you’ve observed our community overcome? If so, how?

I’m not sure that overcome is the word I would use. I think there are challenges we are still working through — living wage, benefits cliff, gun violence in and out of schools, salary increase for educators, to name a few.

What does health and wellness look like for you?

Vacation and resting.

How can we encourage healthy environments in our workspaces and our lives?

A true work/life balance encouraged and provided by employers. Prioritizing mental health and acknowledging that trauma shows up differently for everyone in our community, as well as providing affordable resources to address this.

Shontell Robinson

DEPUTY COUNTY MANAGER, FORSYTH COUNTY GOVERNMENT

How long have you been with your current organization and what do you enjoy most about what you do?

I have worked for Forsyth County Government since February 2014. I started as the human resources director and was promoted to assistant county manager in January 2020 and quickly promoted again to deputy county manager. In this role, I also serve as the county’s health and human services director. I started my new role two months before a global pandemic, so it has certainly been a whirlwind. What I enjoy the most is being hands-on in serving the community and having the ability to influence and oversee programs and initiatives that can have a profound impact on improving the community in which I live, work, and play.

Overall, how long have you been a member/resident of the Winston-Salem, Forsyth County community?

I moved to Winston-Salem in January 2014 after my husband retired from the U.S. Marines. I am excited to finally put roots down after our family’s many military moves. Winston-Salem is our forever home.

In what ways have you seen the community evolve during your time here?

Since 2014 I’ve witnessed lots of growth. I’ve seen the evolution of Innovation Quarter, the housing market booming, many libraries built, Salem Parkway and the Beltway expansions, a new courthouse coming to fruition, Kaleideum groundbreaking, new schools, etc.

How do you think the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted life here in Forsyth County? How has it specifically impacted your organization and work?

COVID-19 has consumed Forsyth County Government. First and foremost, the county is responsible for the Department of Public Health. The public health team oversees the COVID-19 response for the community, which has been a huge undertaking. I am proud of the team for their hard work and perseverance through these unprecedented times.

I am also proud of our many other county departments that have continued to serve the community. Forsyth County Government never closed. We remained nimble and flexible in an effort to continue providing necessary services to the community. Somse examples include: social services, the tax office, emergency services, the sheriff’s office, elections, libraries, parks and recreation, just to name a few.

What does health and wellness look like for you?

Health and wellness require diligent efforts and can include being more responsible about food choices, exercising (which I admittedly need to do more of!), keeping up with annual health examinations, and taking care of my mental health. Both physical and mental health are equally important and can affect how I handle stress as well as how I relate to and interact with others.

As the theme for Women’s History Month is promoting healing and hope, are there words of encouragement or wisdom that you have for our readers?

I think it’s important to take care of YOU. As women, we sometimes carry the burdens of the world and forget about ourselves. Put yourself first and be unapologetic about it. If we don’t take care of ourselves then we can’t be healthy and well for our friends, family, and coworkers.

How can we help make the community here in Winston- Salem/Forsyth County a healthier place for women?

Winston-Salem is full of resources for women. It’s important to ensure that everyone is aware of those resources and that quality care is accessible throughout the community. At each stage of a woman’s life, there are preventive healthcare steps that should be followed which can serve as early detection of medical problems. It is vital to make yourself a priority and don’t put off taking care of yourself.

Katherine Perry

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LEADERSHIP WINSTON-SALEM

How long have you been with your current organization and what do you enjoy most about what you do?

I have been with Leadership Winston-Salem since February 2017, first as a program director and more recently as the executive director. I thoroughly enjoy the opportunity I have to connect people with opportunities in our community.

How long have you been a resident of the Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County community?

I was born in Winston-Salem and have lived most of my life here. I have ventured outside the city to live in Kernersville, Greensboro, Chapel Hill, Cary, Raleigh, Wilmington, Charlotte and Bristol, Tenn./Va. But with each move, I found myself returning to Winston-Salem. After three returns, I opted to unpack my boxes for the last time.

In what ways have you seen the community evolve during your time here?

There is life in our downtown community that didn’t exist when I was growing up. In the past 15 years or so, there has been new life breathed into our downtown. We seem to be actively competing with other metropolitan areas to attract young professionals and entrepreneurs, and to keep them here.

As far as we may have come, we still have a long way to go to see our entire community thrive. It is shameful that we can claim an economic mobility rate that is among the worst in the nation. Collaborative efforts that were once an anomaly in our community have become a regular part of successful strategies among health and human service agencies. We are more well-poised than ever to effect significant and meaningful change.

How do you think the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted life here in Forsyth County? How has it specifically impacted your organization and work?

Some professionals chose this time to re-evaluate professional objectives and seek new career paths. Parents have been provided with opportunities to choose different academic paths for their children. Businesses are adapting their service models to be more consumer and employee friendly. Those that have been the most significantly impacted were the most vulnerable in our community — people struggling with mental health issues; our socio-economically disadvantaged population; the children of Forsyth County; and our senior citizens.

Leadership Winston-Salem was able to pivot its programming from an in-person to a virtual model during the height of the pandemic. The leaders who went through LWS programming during the pandemic were bridgebuilders, more determined than before to engage. To that end, the pandemic made our work more impactful.

What does health and wellness look like for you?

The old adage, “If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything,” is an absolute truth. I lost my brother in the prime of his life to cancer — he was just getting started on what was to be an amazing life journey when he died at 40 years of age. With his loss in mind, I try to make good choices about my mental health as well as my physical well-being.

How can we encourage healthy environments in our workspaces and our lives?

A healthy work environment includes showing acknowledgement and appreciation to each team member so that they feel valued. Leveraging these talents in yourself at work and in life helps us to be and feel more successful.

As the theme for Women’s History Month is promoting healing and hope, are there words of encouragement or wisdom that you have for our readers?

This is a community dedicated to change. We have the resources and the ability to make a difference in the lives of all people in Forsyth County. Through my work I have seen a cornucopia of talented, dedicated and compassionate leaders roll up their sleeves and dive headfirst into the issues in our community.

How can we help make the community here in Winston- Salem/Forsyth County a healthier place for women?

The number of single-parent, female head-of-households in our community is significant, and addressing issues like affordable housing and affordable childcare would go a long way to positively affecting our overall economic mobility rate in Forsyth County. Couple this with better accessibility to pre-natal care, better corporate maternity leave benefits, better healthcare options for our community’s un- and under-insured women in our community and we might significantly impact overall family health and well-being.