Her Story
About Eboney
I started my career in childcare at a nonprofit settlement house, and I really enjoyed the workings of the nonprofit sector. My passion has always been education of young people, so when I found this job with Communities and Schools of Ohio about 17 years ago, it brought both of those things together - education and nonprofit work. Today, my main area of expertise is leadership, specifically leading leaders. I've managed and led directors for the last 8 years, and I've been able to see a lot of people grow and excel under my leadership. My key responsibilities are to work directly with our school district partners and superintendents, as well as other funding partners to ensure that we can maintain funding to do the work that we do, that we meet the expectations of all of our partners including our school districts, and that our work has fidelity. No matter what school building you go in across the state of Ohio that has Communities and Schools, the work looks the same and we are bringing the same outcomes. Right now, based on everything that is going on in education across the nation, I've taken the next steps to run for a state representative office because I realize that in my seat that I sit in right now, I will impact lives of young people, but it won't necessarily change the trajectory of the lives of my own children. I've taken a step to get into the policy work that impacts the decisions that ultimately affect how programs are funded.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Eboney
01What do you attribute your success to?
Honestly, I first attribute my success to my faith. Believing that there is somebody who is behind me, no matter what, I would not be where I am without that. But I also attribute it to my own self-advocacy. I haven't had a lot of champions in my life that championed me as a person, so I had to become that person for myself. I had to learn to be my own champion and advocate for myself when others weren't there to do it for me.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would start off by telling them to pause and reflect often, but also let tomorrow take care of itself while you're focused on managing today. Don't be hard on yourself. My current thing that I've been telling my team is, don't pick up other people's crosses. I think we already have a lot to bear ourselves, and when we go around trying to figure it all out for everybody, being all things for all people, we often miss ourselves. Early on in my career, I felt like I couldn't be who I was because of the industry. I think as a Black woman coming up in a nonprofit industry, at least here in my state, that was predominantly either white women or white men, I always felt uncomfortable and I felt like I had to shrink. So I would encourage someone coming up in this industry to not shrink. Be who they are, always, and even when it doesn't feel like it, just know that society will adapt. We don't always have to adapt. Sometimes, things around us have to adapt to us.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
My field right now, the biggest challenge is conveying the value that the work we do has on not just the youth for today, but for the future of our state. I find it hard to believe that people don't see the value in making sure that the basic needs of every child is met. But right now, I think that's the biggest challenge - really trying to find a space where not only is that understood, but there's actions behind it to ensure that our young people aren't lost.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
What I value most is honesty and integrity. I think just in everything that I do, I try to do it with integrity, that there will be very few people, if any, that can't say that I upheld the highest integrity in everything that I put out, in everything that I speak, that I'm a part of.
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