Approximately 40% of businesses in the U.S. are women-owned and VISIONS is proud to be one of them. Katherine Dayton has been the director/owner of VISIONS since 2010 when she took the reins from long-time co-directors/owners, Joanne Pinaire and Teena Beutel. While it may not seem surprising that an education- and youth-focused service organization is woman-run, VISIONS is actually rather unique in its field in this regard.
Katherine first joined VISIONS as a summer leader in 1996, and spent many summers in the field building relationships with community partners, learning and developing VISIONS philosophies about teenagers, and building our programs to have the greatest impact on both the individual and the community.
Katherine Dayton
Joanne Pinaire & daughter Claire Hortens
Teena Beutal
Josephine Foster, Assistant Director, joined the VISIONS team one month before the Covid pandemic began in force, creating an intensive learning environment where she showed her resilience and can-do spirit. VISIONS administrative team—largely comprised of women—share a passion for the important work that we do.
Our field directors also are well represented by women who lead our gender-balanced staff teams. Local project partners include many women who are high impact positive forces in their communities. And those who keep kids nourished with balanced and delicious dinners at program sites are all women—our invaluable dinner cooks.
Furthermore, in any given year, approximately 55% of our teen volunteers are young women. Many of these girls spearhead the process of seeking out a summer program that will develop their leadership skills and provide hands-on opportunities to make a difference.
While VISIONS is proud to be counted among women-owned businesses, we are even more proud of the impact that our program participants have had on the world. Through more than three decades of community service programs, we have had the privilege of witnessing the strength of teenagers.
VISIONS teenagers– both girls and boys– have come together with community partners around the world to build schools for thousands of underprivileged children; they have built miles of water canals that provide water to communities of people that would normally be without; they have listened to stories and opened their hearts to friendships that will last a lifetime; and they have demonstrated what is possible through the respectful regard of others and the willingness to engage with our global community.
Born out of three decades of female leadership, VISIONS has created a global community that will continue to impact the individuals involved and our world for years to come.
