Check out our Q&A with Food Security Policy Manager Christine Woody below. Congratulations on 20 years with Empower Missouri, Christine!
How did you first hear about Empower Missouri, and what inspired you to get involved?
In 2002, I was volunteering with an organization in St. Louis called Let’s Start, a non-profit support process for women returning from incarceration. Let’s Start was actively involved in Empower Missouri’s Criminal Justice Task Force (well, Missouri Association for Social Welfare at the time). Through my work with Let’s Start, I attended many task force meetings and advocacy days that Empower Missouri organized.
And then, in the summer of 2004, I completed an internship at Empower Missouri while I was in my Masters of Social Work Program at Saint Louis University.
I was then hired in May of 2006 as the St. Louis Chapter, Food Security Task Force and Criminal Justice Task Force Coordinator for Empower Missouri and have been here ever since.
What accomplishment are you most proud to have been a part of?
During my time at Empower Missouri, we have grown our Annual Student Advocacy Day (and now our Day of Action) immensely. There have been years when we had over 200 university students from 10 different universities attending our Student Advocacy Day. And just a few months ago, we had almost 300 attendees at our Day of Action! That is people-powered policy change!
What is your favorite memory from an Empower Missouri event?
Before Zoom became widely used, coalition meetings had to be done in person in Jefferson City. Our Criminal Justice Coalition met almost every other month in Jefferson City. Being based in St. Louis, I would carpool to Jefferson City for those meetings with our most active and passionate Coalition members. Those carpool trips included: Cynthia Stevenson of Let’s Start, Barbara Baker of Keyway Center, Rev. Milt Stohs of Lutheran Ministries, Sr. Carleen Reck of Criminal Justice Ministry, and Sr. Mary Ann McGivern of Project Cope. I learned so much about Missouri’s justice system and about being an advocate during those trips to Jefferson City. I will be forever grateful for their mentorship and kindness (and the fun times we had during those trips).
How have you seen the organization grow or change in the time you’ve been involved?
I have seen so many changes and so much growth in Empower Missouri since i was hired in 2006!! At one point, Empower Missouri had only 4 staff members! When I was hired I was in charge of planning our advocacy days and leading our St. Louis chapter and our Criminal Justice Coalition and Food Security Coalition! We now have 15 staff members and I get to completely focus on co-leading the work of our Food Security Coalition! With all of these additional expert staff members all working together for the organization’s mission, Empower Missouri is a more impactful, respected and successful organization! We have come a long way!
If you could pick one policy change that we could make next, what would it be and why?
Clean Slate is a huge success for Empower Missouri, and continuing to work on it will change the lives of thousands of folks whose records can be automatically sealed by this legislation. This is a policy change that Empower Missouri started and has led the work on since the very beginning!
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