Center for Women :: Who We Are

"The seminar was fabulous! I received ideas that I started implementing the
next day."

Center for Women workshop participant

Our Job: To Help Women Build Better Lives for Themselves
The only comprehensive women's development center in South Carolina, the Center for Women (CFW) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to make personal and professional success an everyday event for women in the Lowcountry. Our efforts are working and being recognized! Oprah Winfrey honored the CFW in 2006 with an Oprah’s Angel Network $25,000 grant. The Family Circle Cup Tournament selected the CFW as their charity of choice for three years in a row 2006-2008. The CFW was the winner of the 2005 Award for Excellence in Non-Profit Management by the SC Association of Non-Profit Organizations. Know more>>	Pictured from l to r: Program Coordinator, Amanda Bunting Comen; Executive Director, Jennet Robinson Alterman; Intern, Kayla Septor; Marketing Coordinator, Ginger Rosenberg; Finance Coordinator, Mary Mallette; Events Coordinator, Leigh Ann S. Garrett.
The CFW has reached more than 70,000 women since it was established in 1990, connecting thousands of women across the Tri-County area to professional sources for practical help by providing counseling, facilitating peer support groups, and making referrals. We provide educational programs on important issues such as emotional, physical and financial health, life transitions, discrimination of all types, multiculturalism, and career and business. Our educational outreach programs are particularly popular and well-attended, including The Brown Bag Lunch Series, The Entrepreneurial Woman Series, The Annual Centering on Women Conference, Special Entrepreneurs Networking Event, The Annual "It's In The Bag" Purse Silent Auction, and monthly Support Groups. Know more>>
Board of Directors Susan Romaine, President Shari Schleis, VP of Board Governance Alison Standard, VP of Development Shari Stauch, VP of Strategic Planning Doretha Walker, Secretary, Cathryn Cato, Treasurer Laura Bright Cindy M. Floyd Charlene Harris Virginia Hinnant Ann Gregorie Kulze, MD Dorothy P. Moore, Ph.D. Carolyn Morales Susan Parsons, MEd, LPC, CRS Alison Piepmeier Harriet Rigney Jamin Marlow Slone Colleen Troy Debra Turner Staff Jennet Robinson Alterman, Executive Director Amanda Bunting Comen, Program Coordinator Leigh Ann S. Garrett, Events Coordinator Mary Mallette, Finance Coordinator Ginger Rosenberg, Marketing Coordinator Faye Slater, M.A., LPC Licensed Clinical Counselor	Community Involvement In 2007 the CFW conducted over 70 programs and events, and we reached 5000 women! The CFW works closely with other community based organizations receiving and making referrals. Among the organizations with whom the CFW collaborates are: Trident United Way 2-1-1, My Sister's House, Crisis Ministries, Legal Aid, People Against Rape, Darkness to Light, Habitat for Humanity, Family Services Center, Dress for Success, Carolina Youth Development Center, the SC Bar Association, the Charleston County Human Services Commission, the Small Business Development Center, city, county, and state government agencies, and many more organizations. We are members of the SCCADVASA and SCANPO. Know more>> The CFW spearheaded Lowcountry Women Vote, a new coalition urging women to vote. The non-partisan coalition includes the American Association of University Women, Bethune-Leonard Section of the National Council of Negro Women, Center for Women, Charleston Chapter of The Links, Inc., Charleston Junior Woman's Club, Continental Societies, Inc., The Jessamine Chapter of the American Business Women's Association, Hadassah of Charleston, The Junior League of Charleston, Inc., League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area, The National Council of Jewish Women Charleston Section, Women@Work Professional Network, Women Making a Difference, and YWCA of Greater Charleston, Inc. Another way to keep up with the CFW! Join our group on Join our group on Be our friend on
Policy Statement
It is the policy of the CFW to be inclusive, to provide a safe environment in which women of any race or persuasion feel free to express their views, discuss their concerns and find answers to the questions their lives pose to them. It is with this in mind that the Board of Directors and Staff believe that the CFW should not issue policy statements endorsing any one particular political or social issue. Such endorsements would in effect negate the purpose for which the CFW was founded: to provide any woman, regardless of race, political or religious affiliation, or sexual persuasion, with services that will enable her to fulfill her greatest human potential in accordance with her own personal belief system. As a result, it is the CFW’s policy to offer the broadest range of services possible in accordance only with sound fiscal practices. The CFW does believe, however, that advocacy in the form of disseminating information on issues women face is also part of its mission and it is its policy to strive to ensure that the information the CFW provides is accurate and reflects the views, to the greatest extent possible, of the women it serves.