Shenango Urban League Leader Gets National Recognition

 

Erin Houston is looking back to move forward.

The Shenango Urban League President/CEO is pondering on how to best move her organization into 2022. “For 2022, our focus is to maintain our organization during these times of uncertainty and limited funding that the pandemic has presented to us,” she said. “Keeping the organization strong and moving in the right direction through these times, keeping the staff safe, those are my main goals.”

Houston has led the Shenango Urban League since 2015, and was recently recognized for her work by receiving the Excellence in Leadership Award at the virtual 2021 National Urban League’s Whitney M. Young Leadership Development Conference. Cognizant of her organization’s 54-year history, she understands the opportunities available that center around it. “We want to continue to advocate for voting rights and social justice, because being a civil rights organization, this is really what the foundation of this organization is about,” Houston says. “And with the national political climate as it is, we’ve really made it a point to pay more attention to the climate locally and ensure that our black community has a voice.”

The Shenango Urban League have several programs that will continue to give voice to the marginalized heading into 2022.

“I see us growing and bringing in new programs so that we can provide more services to the community,” Houston says. “The focus is on growth for this affiliate. I feel like we can really expand upon what we already do and enhance the programs we offer while also looking for future opportunities, even during a pandemic.”

For further information, please see the full article.