The Women's Place

Richardson honored as a 2024 YWCA Woman of Achievement

Congratulations to Elaine Richardson, professor of literacy studies at The Ohio State University, for being selected as a 2024 YWCA Woman of Achievement.
April 30, 2024
Elaine Richardson wearing a black blazer and red lipstick standing in front of a brown background

For more than 35 years, this award has been granted to nominees who demonstrate a strong commitment to breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for women. Women of Achievement is one of many groundbreaking initiatives led by YWCA Columbus to challenge inequity through the empowerment of women and marginalized communities. 

Over the course of her career Dr. Elaine Richardson (Dr. E) has demonstrated a commitment to interrupting oppression, dismantling racism, and advancing gender equity. In addition to her role as a distinguished professor of literacy studies at Ohio State, Dr. E is the founder and curator of the university’s HipHop Literacies Conference, which brings together a diverse group of artists and scholars to discuss issues of race, gender and identity in the genre. Dr. E is also a recipient of a 2022-23 Critical Difference Grant from The Women’s Place.

Group photo of the six 2024 YWCA Women of Achievement standing in front of a dark blue curtain background.
2024 award winners, left to right: Demetries Neely, Ola Snow, Erin Upchurch, Renée Shumate, Corrine Burger, and Elaine Richardson

In 2016 Dr. E founded the Education Foundation for Freedom, a non-profit that provides education and resources to women, girls, and gender-expansive people of color in Columbus. As founder and chair of this organization, she fosters community engagement and women’s advancement through events like the Annual Columbus Women and Girls' Fest, and the Empowering Young Voices mentoring program. Dr. E’s collective work as an artist, scholar and community leader are reflective of her dedication to uplifting traditionally minoritized individuals through education and community outreach.

The Women’s Place asked Richardson the following questions to learn how she achieved her leadership role at Ohio State and what advice she has for other women looking to advance in their careers. 

Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and style. 

Which personal/career accomplishments are you most proud of and why?

I have been able to remain true to myself and my community. I am an artist and performance scholar activist. I am proud of the work I've been able to accomplish with the Hiphop Literacies Conference (the 10th conference will be held in 2025). This year we will host the 7th Annual Columbus Women & Girls' Fest, celebrating and elevating Black women, girls and gender-expansive people of color in our community. I am also proud of the work that Dr. Alice Ragland and I are doing through Empowering Young Voices Mentoring for the Arts program, which focuses upon Black girls and young women in the Near East Side. I continue to meet young scholars and artists who tell me how much my way of being in the academy has provided them with the courage and permission to see themselves and be themselves. 

Aside from the obvious hard work and dedication, is there anything else you attribute your career success at Ohio State to?

God has put people in my path to guide me. I have close mentors and colleagues who share wisdom with me. We all need wise counsel. 

What does it mean to you to be a YWCA Woman of Achievement?

Being a YWCA Woman of Achievement means being in league with amazing women who are proven change makers. It broadens my connection to courageous women in the struggle for equity. 

Looking back on your career, what is a piece of advice you wish that you had received earlier in your journey? What would you tell a younger version of yourself or a less advanced colleague?

A mentor told me that I would encounter many obstacles in the academy. I thought all I had to do was do great work and publish to excel. I have a whole book in me to write for less advanced colleagues. For right now, let me just say as we do in the Black baptist church, “They’ll understand it better by and by.” 

How can we empower women to seek leadership roles at the university?

The university is very demanding. Self-care and everyday life must be factored into the equation of life in the university, so that we don’t have to forsake ourselves and our families to be leaders. Women must be dedicated to empowering other women, which is not always the case, because we are in a colonized institution that thrives on individualism, competition and hierarchy. 

What would you like to see for the future of women at Ohio State?

I would like to see more strong women leaders recruited, retained and valued.