Why I Founded WMN
WMN was founded for the economic empowerment of women and families. Women who are on welfare and low-income women have the same hopes and dreams for themselves and their children as any other group of women. They also have the same potential for successful career and personal achievement given guidance and opportunity. Working for the department of social services, I watched intelligent, motivated women try repeatedly to enter the workforce and fail due to the lack of employability and life management skills. We founded WMN to help women overcome these obstacles more easily and successfully through the mentoring assistance of experienced women.


WMN History

• Paige Oristano, a literacy volunteer, and Louise Moss, a case worker at the local welfare office, spent a year researching and designing the pilot project
• They interviewed over 200 women who were on welfare or were employed in minimum wage jobs along with 50 local business owners and managers to link the needs of the women with workforce needs
• In 1990, with technical and financial assistance from the United Ways of America, Connecticut and Stamford and under the sponsorship of Person-to-Person in Darien, a very successful small pilot project with 10 women was launched
• Today, the organization serves approximately 150 women annually
• While serving as executive director and a board member, Louise still finds time to work one-on-one with agency clients

Personal History

• BS in Education from Indiana University and an MBA from the University of Connecticut
• Interested in social and environmental issues and has served on local and state committees and boards that support these areas of interest
• 13 years experience as a case worker for the Connecticut Department of Social Services and 10 years of experience as a volunteer counselor for a local youth organization
• Received Women In Management 1999 Recognition Award 'for her exemplary leadership of an agency that offers unique and beneficial services to women in poverty'

Most Memorable WMN Moment
While I could name multiple WMN moments, the most rewarding came after the agency had enough experience and time to validate the trickle down effects of our work to the children. WMN helps women build positive expectations for themselves, and they in turn, pass these expectations to their children. Children coming out of our WMN families achieve at a higher standard than their peers. WMN children do not drop out of school, 80% go onto post high school education and 20% go onto work. For me, the validation of the long-term effects of our work was my most significant moment.