OUR HISTORY

The WomanHOOD Project (WomanHOOD) was the first after school mentorship program to center racialized female and gender-expansive youth and activism education in Bronx, NY. WomanHOOD was founded in 2012 by Amanda Matos and Érida Tosini-Corea, then undergraduates at Columbia University.  As Latinas, Amanda and Érida experienced racism, sexism, and classism without the support or resources to combat those oppressive systems. After researching programs that serve young women in their demographic, they realized that most organizations were based in Manhattan and Brooklyn, making it difficult for youth in the Bronx to participate in leadership development opportunities. In response, Amanda and Érida conceptualized a mentoring program and recruited other college undergraduates to create the curriculum and become mentors.

The WomanHOOD Project was incorporated as a 501(c)3 in 2017

As of 2022, we have partnered with five Bronx high schools and three community-based organizations

Over 140 youth have participated in our programs

With the advice and financial support of Young People For (YP4), and Columbia University’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (CSER), Amanda and Érida strategized to pilot their idea at a high school in the South Bronx with ten youth over a period of twelve weeks. Feedback from participants and administrators was used to revise the curriculum, build stronger relationships with school staff, and implement retention incentives. After the first two iterations of the after school program, WomanHOOD staff and mentors agreed upon organizational core values and developed practices that centered solidarity-building amongst themselves and their mentees.

Between 2020 and 2021, the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic reduced participation in The WomanHOOD Project, and the organization adapted by moving its programming to the virtual space and offering workshops online. At the same time, leadership and staffing challenges caused a decline in organizational management, which threatened the existence of the organization. Fortunately, capacity building grants received from the New York Women’s Foundation and Mary’s Pence provided the opportunity for the WomanHOOD board to engage educational consultant Dr. Sonia James-Wilson, who facilitated an intensive six-month strategic planning process that ended with the reformulation of the board, a new organizational structure, an updated approach to youth programming, and new Bronx community partnerships. In the fall of 2021, the WomanHOOD board voted unanimously to hire Sonia as the new Executive Director and in 2022 of the organization offered year-round programming (including field trips), increased the number of youth served, and allocated the majority of its funding to direct programming expenses — including larger stipends paid to participants for their active participation in youth-centered, arts based programming.