Laura Hughes

Michigan Nightlight: What does being a leader mean to you?
Ruth Ellis Center Executive Director Laura Hughes: Being a leader is a lot about accountability: accountability to colleagues, to our board of directors, to the youth we serve, and to the mission of this organization. It’s being able to create things and say “yes” and be innovative, and make sure everything you do responds to the mission of the organization. It may not be the “glamour” thing or what feeds your soul the most, but being a leader means that the mission of the organization is at the forefront of every decision you make. I identify as an ally, and I recognize that I can create opportunities, but I might not be the right person to walk through that door. Part of leadership is to know who has to go through that door and who has to do that work.
 
What is your dream for kids?
For young people who have either rocky relationships with their families or have been totally disowned, my wish for them is that their families will get it together and learn to support their young people. Their families don’t support how they identify,

For young people who have either rocky relationships with their families or have been totally disowned, my wish for them is that their families will get it together and learn to support their young people.

and I wish we could do more with families so they could see the same dynamic and amazing and talented young people that we see.
 
What is one concrete thing that could be done to improve the environment for social sector work in Michigan?
Michigan absolutely has to allocate additional dollars toward poverty initiatives. Nationally there are not enough, and locally we have got to prioritize those folks and families -- individuals, youth and children -- who are living in poverty. It’s a great cross-cutting issue that so many people in our area experience. If we refuse to provide and really acknowledge that there are people who don’t have resources for food and for housing, we’re missing the boat for the opportunity to move the entire region forward.
 
How do you know you’re making progress?
We measure it. We have metrics by which we grade ourselves. There’s also the young people who we get to see move forward and graduate from high school or move into their own apartments. We have a fairly small staff, so it’s not possible for any staff member to not know any young person’s name and what they are doing. Young people stop my office every day to share what they need and what they are doing -- they share their bad days and their moments of joy. So we measure also by the person and what movement they make in their life.
 
What are you most proud of?
That’s a hard one. Over the process of the three years I have been here I could point to individual stories. Ultimately, it’s the

Young people stop my office every day to share what they need and what they are doing -- they share their bad days and their moments of joy.

stories when a young person drops by to share that something happened in their life that was good. Sometimes it’s a baby step -- sometimes it’s that ‘I passed a class’ or ‘I made it to school.’ If we have inspired belief, and we have supported young people to believe in themselves -- and that their community supports them and that they have friends and families who are going to stick with them, good bad or indifferent -- I’m proud. When they come to us they don’t have belief, and it makes me proud to see that spark of belief in young people, because we have been consistent in their lives. 
 
What perceptions create the most significant barriers to engaging Michigan citizens in helping vulnerable children?
I think the biggest barrier is resources and capacity. For all the folks who are willing and wanting to be plugged in and are committed to children, there is such little time and effort available for innovation. So many agencies do the same thing because they don’t have the resources to do something different. That is the greatest roadblock to what we do.