'Here to stay': Girls Inc. programs return better than ever serving estimated 360 girls

WORCESTER - As holiday music fills the halls of Girls Inc. headquarters at 125 Providence St., the giggles of school-age girls interrupts Mariah Carey's message of "All I Want for Christmas Is You."

Despite being 4 p.m. on a school night, preteens are happily constructing a bridge out of cardboard, stretching out fluorescent "slime" just made in the classroom's readymade lab, learning ice-breaking social skills that will serve them well as adults and preparing a plate of green Rice Krispies Treats.

No, the confectionary treats haven't gone bad. They're green because of the holiday, courtesy of a little food coloring, according to one of the young cooks.

What all the girls have in common is they are enjoying one of the many programs Girls Inc. has to offer and will continue to offer and expand upon, thanks to a new team of leaders who pledge to deliver nothing but amazing things for area girls in the future.

Tiffany Lillie, the new CEO of Girls Inc. of Worcester, has been there for little over a month, while Jessica Diaz, Girls Inc.’s new director of programming, has been there only a week.

Girls Inc. also appointed Connie Hundt as the agency’s new director of development, as well as appointed six new board members, Shantel Collins, owner of Downtown Doula of Worcester; Margo Foreman, vice president and chief officer of diversity, equity and inclusion at Clark University; Olga “Cilsy” Harris, senior vice president and chief information officer of insurance application at The Hanover Insurance Group; Agnes Nkansah, administrative fellow, Lahey Hospital and Medical Center; Matt Paradise, CEO of Matt Paradise Consulting LLC; and Jessica Sanon, founder and CEO of sySTEMic flow.

Lillie, the former assistant superintendent of equity, diversity and community engagement for Framingham Public Schools, is replacing interim CEO Myran Parker-Brass.

She has worked for You Inc., YWCA, Wayside Youth & Family Support Network, the City of Cambridge and Girls Inc. of Worcester.

“I worked at Girls Inc. almost 18 years ago when it was over on the Lincoln Street property. And I worked here in the evenings for Youth Connects. It’s just been a pleasure to be back,” Lillie said. “I’m on 100 all the time because it's easy to believe in what we do. We’re working on building relationships, working on connecting with families and really looking at our programming.”

Diaz joins the organization from YWCA of Central Massachusetts, where she served as the director of youth development for more than seven years. Before her position at the YWCA, Diaz was the director of community health education at Montachusett Opportunity Council Inc.

“It has been amazing. Tiffany has been a great support. The team that I work with has been amazing. It’s been a blessing to be the part of a great agency,” Diaz said. “I’m learning a lot and excited to see what we can do together to build up the agency more.”

Girls Inc.’s team winning ingredient in success

Lillie and Diaz praise Girls Inc.’s team as the winning ingredient in the success of its school day programs, evening enrichment programs, vacationing programs, STEM-based programs and after-school programs.

“Our staff have been consistent and they have great relationships with the girls and are thoughtful about the whole girl,” Lillie said. “In one afternoon, they’re doing science, cooking, mentorship with their Big Brother/Big Sister, swimming, social emotional learning. So we get to be excited that it’s not your typical after-school program. It’s a lot more.”

“A lot of the team that’s here have been girls who have been here since kindergarten. They’ve been here for 12, 15 years,” Diaz said. “For them to just be part of the team is something you don’t see often. I definitely did not see that in other places that I worked at. So it shows who Girls Inc. is from years ago.”

In May, an online petition included allegations against Girls Inc. of Worcester including racism, ableism, labor rights violations and acts of coercion against staff members of color, as well as participants and families.

The petition calls for the “immediate” removal of Girls Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Victoria Waterman and Chief Operating Officer Allison James.

Waterman has since retired and James is on administrative leave, as the board of directors continues its external investigation into concerns raised by some employees around workplace equity issues, Lillie said.

“I think the investigation is kind of in another lane of the highway for us. Even while that has been happening, we added professional learning for our staff. We added professional learning for our board. We expanded our board. We diversified our board and we hire our teams,” Lillie said. “For us, even though that’s still ongoing, rebuilding the relationships have been the key part of us coming on, at least.”

The petition claims that there is “little to no support” for staff of color, while leadership expects work responsibilities beyond agreed terms; that Girls Inc. of Worcester refuses to implement culturally responsive programs for its “predominantly Black and brown girls,” while subjecting staff to discriminatory and retaliatory treatment whenever they brought issues related to race or abilities; and accuses the organization of failing to report or investigate child abuse/endangerment incidents.

In addition, Girls Inc. of Worcester had to pause all its programs, including the after-school drop-in program and summer camp, because it did not have the staff in place “to safely and effectively provide these services.”

But the programs are back and the after-school programs are at full capacity and better than ever, Lillie and Diaz agreed.

If Girls Inc. ceased to exist, Lillie said she thinks that it would make a huge impact on the community. She learned that from the families impacted by the pause of the agency’s programs.

“It would be a huge impact. We heard that from the families. As a result, we added a parent to our board. We really have thought about how we learned from that,” Lillie said. “This is a safe-place space. It’s the only place in the city for girls full time, after-school, evening, vacation. We take that very serious. So having parents, alum, at the table making that decision with us is really important in moving forward, so we are making the decision as a community.”

With an estimated 360 girls enrolled in their program, Lillie said honoring the legacy of the agency of the path while forging responsible creative partnerships in the future are the two most important goals of Girls Inc. in 2024.

“We’re definitely here to stay,” Lillie said. “We both came from roles that we were in for almost a decade. I think it’s important that the staff, the family, almost everybody knows we are really community to the organization and the girls and the staff and that’s not wavering. And,come for a tour. Call us.”

“2024 will be a year that Girls Inc. will be know,” Diaz added. “It’s going to be amazing. The foundation is being built now. It’s going to be so much stronger than it has ever been.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 'Here to stay': Girls Inc. programs return serving estimated 360 girls