YWCA Lancaster Remembers Maureen Powers, a Pioneering Leader for Women and Racial Equity

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AIRED; January 12, 2025

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YWCA Lancaster leaders and community members are reflecting on the life and legacy of Maureen Powers, whose decades-long leadership helped shape programs advancing women’s rights, racial equity, and survivor support across Lancaster County and beyond. In a recent conversation, YWCA Lancaster CEO Stacie Blake said the response to Powers’ passing has revealed just how far her influence reached. “What’s been so interesting to me is how different chapters keep being revealed,” Blake said, noting calls from former colleagues in Lancaster, national YWCA leaders, and others who worked with Powers years ago. “It’s just learning more and more layers.”

Powers’ relationship with YWCA Lancaster spanned much of her professional life. After serving on the organization’s board, she quickly moved into staff leadership and ultimately became CEO, a role she held for 29 years. Blake described that tenure as “remarkable,” crediting Powers with being ahead of her time on issues that are now widely recognized as critical. One example was the creation of a childcare center at McCaskey High School, allowing teen mothers to continue their education. “That was pretty revolutionary thinking at that time,” Blake said. “Here is Maureen saying, no, we’re going to provide child care right in the same building so these girls can go to school, complete their education, and then continue with their life.”

Powers also helped expand services for survivors of sexual violence and was deeply committed to women’s economic independence. She was an early advocate for what is now known as the New Choices Program, which supports women re-entering the workforce. “She was always interested in women having economic independence,” Blake said. “She just doesn’t seem like she took no for an answer very well.” That same determination shaped her work on racial equity, including bringing the Race Against Racism to Lancaster County—a program that continues today. “A race against racism doesn’t end racism,” Blake said, “but it can change the conversation and give us an opportunity to think differently about who our community is.”

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Blake described Powers as direct, kind, and deeply human. Despite living with disabilities later in life, she remained driven and engaged, mentoring staff and community leaders alike. “I have yet to hear a negative comment about her,” Blake said. Reflecting on Powers’ lasting impact, she added, “We’re always standing on someone else’s shoulders, and this is a very, very clear reminder of that.”