Herstory
2000-2005: Women's Center Founders Sandi Cooper, Laura Lies, and Anne Benedict
2006-2013: 2nd Executive Director, Kimberli Cumming
2013-2014: Third Executive Director Saretha Beeler
Marnie Leavitt writing a grant in 2004
Women's Center office at 2425 W. Stadium in 2003
Therapist-interns Rosalyn Campbell, Lydia Clemins and Marya McCarroll in 2007
Queena Wu and Amber Somerville in the intern office in 2007
Rhonda Bantsimba (rt), daughter, and friend
A mailing "party" at 2425 W. Stadium
Clinical team outside 2425 W. Stadium 2007
Therapist-intern Ryoko Wantanabe and Director Kimberli Cumming at graduation May 2005
Kara Cook Cudini, painting the S. Maple building as part of a team effort
Kara Cook Cundini, chief painter, therapist, and administrator
Therapist-intern, Traci Koch (with Erin Lane)
Communications Coordinator Alice Liao, daughter Stella, and therapist-supervisor Maissa Osman, 2018
Therapist-interns Tiffany Hodges and Aaron Carey, 2016.
Where The Women’s Center Started
The Women’s Center grew from Soundings: A Center for Women — an organization established in 1977. Soundings focused on counseling, divorce support, and job coaching for women in the long term.
Services helped women rebuild their lives — often without a safety net of family, friends, or faith community.
Soundings merged with Child and Family Services, which then later combined with Huron Services for Youth. The result was HelpSource. Repeated mergers made it difficult for Soundings to maintain its identity and continue to offer low-cost, women-friendly counseling and problem-solving.
In 2000 three former employees and a former board member re-organized Soundings as The Women’s Center of America. Mickey Katz-Pek served as board chair and Sandi Cooper, LMSW, as executive director until her retirement in 2005.
Kimberli Cumming, LMSW, who started at The Center in 2001 as a management intern, continued as executive director when Sandi retired. Kim served until December 2013, when the Board chose former program coordinator, Saretha Beeler, LPC, as the third executive director. She was followed by Marnie Leavitt, LMSW, in 2016.
In 2006, our name changed to The Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan to reflect a more regional scope. Eighty-eight percent of our clients are from Washtenaw County; the remaining are from Wayne and 5 surrounding counties. Some come from as far away as Ohio for our women-only divorce-related services.
The Center closed briefly in 2014 — reopening 18 days later on July 1, under a new business model that includes an insurance-based counseling program, Room To Talk. Room to Talk therapists specialize in trauma treatment and LBGTQIA2+ services. About 7 percent of our clients are men and 5 percent are gender-fluid.
Sharonda Simmons, Board Chair starting 2022
Our current space, 1100 Victors Way, Suite 10, is our largest space to date.
Marnie Leavitt, our 4th Executive Director, started at The Women's Center as a volunteer in 2003.
Therapist-interns, summer 2021, meet online during COVID
Designer Anna Leavitt laminates the front window.
Clinical team in Victors Way kitchen, April 2020
Sharonda Simmons hosting our 2021 fundraiser online during COVID.
Clinical team, December 2019, at 510 S. Maple
MomShare baby carriers lined up in the hall
Therapist-interns, April 2019
The Women’s Center Today
Throughout these changes, our core services have remained remarkably consistent.
Current Director Marnie Leavitt maintains a shared leadership tradition, with participative decision-making and active volunteer and board involvement.
Long-term volunteers facilitate our divorce-related financial and family law education, resource navigation, mother-and-infant group, and job and financial coaching. Therapist-interns, under the guidance of a 12-person supervisory team, offer sliding-fee counseling and connections to women-friendly services.
When we help one woman, everyone connected to her also benefits.