Bosses for Babies

How This Boss Makes an Impact for Children in Florida

YWCA South Florida seeks to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Combining direct service programming and advocacy, YWCA South Florida works across four key areas: racial justice and civil rights; empowerment and economic advancement of women and girls; early education; and health and safety of women and girls. The organization has been at the forefront of some of South Florida’s most significant social issues since it was founded in 1920 and has worked to improve the lives of more than 3.1 million adults and children.

YWCA has been serving the needs of women and families and advancing systems and policy change for more than 104 years. These guiding principles inform the organization’s internal operations as much as its program and community responses. With a workforce that is 95% female, many of them parents, YWCA understands that in order to support the community, it must support its people first. The organization offers healthcare benefits for full-time employees and their families, paid leave options, family leave, part-time work opportunities, support for breastfeeding mothers and subsidized childcare for employees for all YWCA childcare programs. 

Bio

Kerry-Ann Royes is the president and CEO of YWCA South Florida. Utilizing more than 25 years of social sector experience, Kerry-Ann has dedicated her talents, time and heart to the advancement of marginalized communities, particularly in the fight against social issues affecting women and girls. She leverages a wealth of expertise in social justice and innovation, strategic alliances, management and leadership in spearheading YWCA South Florida’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women into the next century.

As head of YWCA, Kerry-Ann is committed to the enrichment and longevity of the organization’s mission of rooting out and effecting injustices that happen at the intersection of race and gender. Under her leadership, YWCA South Florida has rebranded to expand its services and regional presence to Dade and Broward counties, developed the board to include men for the first time in 100 years and successfully mobilized the largest community-wide social justice learning movement in South Florida. She also led the launch of First But Not The Last, an annual platform to recognize and elevate South Florida trailblazers whose accomplishments as the first in their fields serve as meaningful representation for generations to come. In the coming years, Kerry-Ann is locking arms with South Florida’s leadership to fully transform YWCA South Florida’s programs, buildings, and assets in response to the housing and child care crisis being experienced by working families and women in the region.

Before joining YWCA, Kerry-Ann was the founder, president and chief strategy officer of The Arrow Group, advising industry leaders on corporate social citizenship, non-profit leadership and collaborative community development issues. She previously served as executive director of YMCA of South Florida, helping to grow its reach and impact while overseeing its largest youth and family services portfolio across organizational departments, contracts, and partners to modernize services for the 4,000 young people served daily.

Originally from Jamaica, Kerry-Ann has devoted herself to her South Florida home for more than 30 years. In that time, she has served on boards for Partners In Education, Inc., Nautilus Oceans Exploration Trust and Philanthropy Miami, and is a trustee of The Miami Foundation while also lending her voice and expertise to Miami Herald’s CEO Roundtable and Florida Influencer Series, South Florida Racial Justice Table, South Florida PBS, South Florida Sun Sentinel, and WLRN Public Radio and Television. In 2022, she was awarded Leadership Florida’s “Equity, Equality & Justice Influencer Award” and the Miami-Dade County Commission for Women’s “Spirit of Community Award”. She has ingrained herself in the heart and culture of her community, working every day to improve the lives of those around her.