News

SPRINGFIELD — In 1984, Yvette M. Frisby started working at the Urban League of Springfield as an office manager.

“I realized through my first couple years how it felt good to be working in and for the community,” Frisby said.

Now, she’s taking the helm of the organization. Last month, the Urban League of Springfield announced she is its new president and CEO — the first woman to hold the top position in the group’s 111-year history.

“For me to be the first in Springfield, that’s significant,” Frisby said Wednesday. “It shows the way we’re going and being more inclusive.” She added: “It feels like the right time, not just for me but for the community in general.”

The Urban League of Springfield, affiliated with the National Urban League, focuses on supporting the Black community and other underserved groups in the greater Springfield area. The nonprofit group works on economic development, education programs and social justice initiatives.

Last year, the league’s longtime president and CEO, Henry M. Thomas III, retired. Frisby was recently chosen after a nationwide search for the leadership position, according to the group.

“Yvette possesses a formidable executive viewpoint on the strategic direction the Urban League is moving in,” Maurice C. Powe, the Urban League of Springfield’s board chair, said in a statement. “During these challenging yet hopeful times, we are embracing a tremendous opportunity to impact the community and elevate the Urban League to the next level.”

Frisby was born and raised in Springfield, and graduated from High School of Commerce.

One of her middle school teachers contacted her when he recently found out she had gotten the permanent position as president and CEO.

“He said, ‘You stayed, and you made a difference.’ That brought me to tears,” she said.

After working as an office manager at the league, Frisby moved into other roles, like working on youth and education programs.

In her 30s while she was raising kids, she decided to attend Springfield College for undergraduate and graduate degrees. As part of her master of science degree in organizational management and leadership, she researched self-esteem in young Black women, she said. Today, she is an adjunct professor at Bay Path University.

Frisby loved direct service work at the league, like teaching youth business skills and working on a teens against tobacco program, but the desire to make a widespread impact drew her to pursue leadership roles, becoming senior vice president of operations and administrative services.

Now as president and CEO, she is working on an organizational assessment to determine where the Urban League’s gaps are.

Eventually, she hopes the league can move into its own building and act as “a resource to the community in a bigger way than we are now,” she said.

Across the country, leagues are newly focused on three principles: “Defend Democracy, Demand Diversity, and Defeat Poverty.”

The Springfield league is looking to partner with area organizations in voting education and registration efforts, Frisby said.

“I tell my children all the time we’re here and able to do that,” Frisby said of voting. “Do this because the people before us made it so. It’s an honor and a privilege.”

The organization also recently announced that Kimberly Williams has been appointed as interim vice president of administration and transformation. She also has deep ties to the league. In the 1980s, she was a junior counselor at Camp Atwater, a summer camp for Black youth in North Brookfield operated by the league.

“I later returned in the mid-2000s to serve as director of development and organizational positioning,” Williams said in a statement. “I am thrilled to serve during this pivotal time in the Urban League of Springfield’s history.”

The organization is planning an event for March that will celebrate the league, honor Thomas’ 50 years of service and serve as a “passing of the baton,” Frisby said.

--

Click for Original Article