Featured Woman-Owned Organization: Women Hold The Key
Women Hold The Key is small, women-founded, women-run, and women-led nonprofit focused on building community for women. Its headquarters is located on beautiful Vashon Island in Washington State, but they serve and welcome women all over the world.
Their values are compassion, connection, courage, respect, resilience, joy, fun, laughter, intergenerationality, and honoring the goddess in us all!
Women Hold The Key is an inspiring force to be reckoned with on Vashon, thanks to the founder and Executive Director, Tina Shattuck. Tina brings together women of all ages and backgrounds to help make this corner of the PNW an even more amazing and blessed place. I couldn’t wait to interview her for this month’s featured women-owned organization on Vashon.
Heather: I have to start with the usual Vashon opener: what brought you to Vashon and how long have you lived here?
Tina: I moved here in 2000. The peace and bucolic nature brought my sister and I and our families here.
Heather: What prompted you to create Women Hold The Key?
Tina: I have done work supporting women for years, first as founder of Working Mothers Revolution, then as the non-profit Working Mothers Evolution…so it wasn’t a stretch for me, but on my 50th birthday after hearing the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford around a supreme court appointment, I realized that the voices of women meant so little, and that I was determined to gather the women in my life together and let them know that I saw and heard them. At the beginning, all we did was acknowledge each other by giving and receiving a key pendant, but soon realized it was more about creating community for women.
Heather: It is an amazing community to be sure! I know I’ve benefitted so much from Women Hold The Key in my time here. What would you say has been the most rewarding experience you’ve had during your time running the organization?
Tina: Just to watch the organization grow, connect women in many different ways and support women in a rural community.
Heather: Are there other events coming up you’d like to highlight, or major plans for Women Hold The Key in the next year?
Tina: We plan on opening other chapters soon, so in addition to continuing to make this chapter sustainable, we’d love to see other Women Hold the Key Women’s Community Centers in other small towns across the nation and world.
Heather: What do you love most about Vashon?
Tina: I’ve been here for a long time – and love this place! I so love seeing so many friends in community – it makes me feel really seen and supported. My kids will absolutely NOT go to the grocery store with me anymore – they say it’s crazy how long it takes me to get through the lines with so many people to talk to!
