Womanspace’s new executive director is driven by the center’s mission
As Nicole Landreth prepared to step into her new role as executive director of Womanspace this summer, she shared some of her experiences and her vision for the future of the center with Alive magazine Communications Associate Nahomi Morales.
“In many ways, my life journey has shaped me to be a part of this community and for this role, but it took me a while to get here,” Nicole said. “I grew up in Rockford, but I never knew about Womanspace. I had to leave my hometown, learn a lot, experience a lot of life, learn a lot of historical context, and lose and find my own voice and identity before I was ready to find this community, this refuge, this special place of connection.”
Nicole said she discovered Womanspace when she was a 34-year-old resident artist at the 317 Art Collaborative in downtown Rockford. After graduating from college, she was not sure what her next chapter would be, and spent time caring for her father while he battled kidney failure. “I had lost connection with myself, my art, my focus, and my purpose,” she recalled.
A friend approached Nicole about offering a hybrid art and yoga class, in which Nicole would lead a mandala art class. “Mandalas and mantras were powerful tools in my personal ‘journey of reconnection’ toolbox,” Nicole said, “so I loved being able to share that with others.”
After offering the class a few times at the Art Collective, Nicole and her friend decided to bring it to other venues to reach more people, which is how she made the Womanspace connection. Not long after, Nicole began offering additional classes at the center.
“Eventually Cherie Heck asked me if I might be interested in the program coordinator position,” Nicole shared. “It was the first job opportunity I had come across since graduating from college that actually excited me, inspired me, and gave me an opportunity to utilize my highly cross-disciplinary education.
“As program coordinator, I was immersed in the culture of creativity and connection that makes up Womanspace,” Nicoleobserved. “I learned about the history of programs offered over the years, and the leadership and camaraderie that grew out of that communal work.”
Nicole joined the Womanspace staff as the center was approaching its landmark 50th anniversary year. She saw that the organization had “a strong foundation, reputation, and history of thought leadership and the development and empowerment of women in the community.” What was needed, she felt, was an injection of new energy to evolve and adapt the organization by inviting new generations and expanding the center’s connections beyond its geographic boundaries, embracing the internet and digital media technologies.
“This is a poignant moment to step into the stewardship of Womanspace,” Nicole said. “While women today face new and evolving concerns, we are also contending with many of the same gender binaries, boundaries, and limitations to autonomy that challenged our foremothers. Our work is not done. My vision is to embrace and illuminate the fibers of our stories that connect us and empower us to personal and collective transformation.”
Nicole said that Sister Elaine Hirschenberger’s invitation to work alongside her as co-director for the past year has been “the learning opportunity of my lifetime. Elaine has taught me so much about leading with compassion and faith, to trust in your team, your community, and the fibers that connect us.
“The connection is deep among the women who have found personal transformation and friendship here,” Nicole observed. “Elaine leads and teaches with that energy. I admire the intention with which she focuses on a person in conversation. Whether it’s a friend of 50-plus years or a brand-new visitor to Womanspace, she is genuinely and actively cultivating connection.”
Nicole recognizes that much of her directorial work will be managing processes. “I can see how easy it can be to get swept up in a reactionary cycle to the needs of any given day,” she observed, “but one of the most important lessons I’ve learned from Elaine’s leadership is to always to be grounded in and connected to the mission.”
As she prepared to move Womanspace forward into its next chapter, Nicole said that connection is the first pillar of Womanspace’s mission, and the grounding force of the center’s work.
“Genuine connection is what makes Womanspace special. Connection lays the groundwork for the empowerment and resilience development, for the creative exploration of ideas and expression,” she said. “It lays the groundwork for transformation. So that’s where I’ll begin my tenure as executive director: nurturing connection with our established community, and fostering new connections with the larger Rockford community, and beyond.”
Nicole said she hopes to carry forward the transformative work that Sister Elaine and the center’s co-founder, Sister Dorothy Bock, began 50 years ago, rooted in Womanspace’s enduring mission and reaching toward a more just, creative, and hopeful future.
“We are here for, and with, one another through the rollercoaster of life,” Nicole said. “Sharing laughter, camaraderie, and creative joy, and being there for one another when life hits you like a brick wall. There’s a special sanctuary energy imbued in the campus. It’s a place of warm and loving welcome. My hope is to nurture that feeling for as long as I’m here. I am just truly so driven by the mission of Womanspace!”
You can read the full feature story about Womanspace’s 50th anniversary in the Fall 2025 issue of Alive magazine, available on our website Publication’s page: https://www.sssf.org/SSSF/Media-Room/Publications.htm
Photo: New Executive Director Nicole Landreth addresses Womanspace supporters at an August 2025 exhibit celebrating the center’s 50th anniversary and honoring its founder, Sister Elaine Hirschenberger.