• CLASS OF 2020 • by M. Diane McCormick The world is a learning experience. That’s the collective conclusion of the 2020 YWCA Women of Excellence. They observe. They absorb. When they see a good habit in a colleague, they adopt it for themselves. Volunteering grounds them in community. Travel and adventure open their eyes to new perspectives. Friends and family bring laughter to their days. The YWCA Women of Excellence represent a long line of honorees whose careers and causes have enriched the region and blazed paths for others to follow.
• LEGACY AWARD • LYNN EVERHART
RETIRED, CHILDREN’S PLAY ROOM/ PARENTWORKS, AND SUCCESS BY 6, UNITED WAY OF CARLISLE AND CUMBERLAND COUNTY The hospice CNA caring for Lynn’s son told Lynn, “I know you!” After 34 years, the woman remembered attending her favorite “school,” Children’s Playroom, while her mother worked to get her daughter back from foster care. Now, she was a proud mother, modeling a work ethic for her own kids. Children’s Play Room/ParentWorks teaches parents and community members how to break the cycle of abuse. Lynn knows that good things happen to those who do what they love, because volunteering led to jobs in child development. Children’s Playroom co-founder Barbara Adler, with Gail Siegel, shared advice for tackling thorny challenges: Put the child first, and all else will fall into place. 4 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE MARCH 2020
• EMERGING LEADER • ASHLEIGH AVILES
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, LATINO CONNECTION
“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” Ashleigh turned that question into a mindset, driving her to raise awareness of challenges and disparities in health care for Latinos. She sees her impact in the mobile wellness units she brings to communities, when the eyes of children light up at the sight of the huge vehicle filled with free books and screenings, or the happiness of senior citizens who get answers from their insurance companies. Ashleigh builds her career on asking questions that carve out learning opportunities, and with getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.
