Beverly Speak Named Ontario’s Woman of the Year

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Beverly Speak, an adjunct instructor in the masters of public administration program, has been named the 2011 Ontario Woman of the Year for her work as executive director of the nonprofit Kids Come First Clinic. State Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, who selected the recipients in her district, will honor Speak and other women of the year at a luncheon on March 18.
“My interest has always been women’s and children’s health, especially in the realm of public health” says Speak, who agreed to head Kids Come First Clinic six years ago and has remained because of the pressing need for its services.
“Our kids can’t wait for Congress” to act on health care reform, Speak says. “We see thousands of kids with no insurance – 40 to 50 a day. The alternative would be the emergency room.”
The clinic addresses a broad range of needs well beyond illness.
“We try to help parents make good health choices for their children,” Speak says. “We try to get them to come back, to create a relationship that is proactive.”
Most of the students in Speak’s MPA class are working professionals in the public service sector. Speak makes it a point to take them out of the classroom and into the community, where they can get a first-hand look at how nonprofits work.
“It’s eye-opening,” she says. “They may interact with nonprofits in their daily work, but they don’t know how nonprofits operate. The better we get to know each other, the better we can partner to serve the community.”