Hilda Richards
About
Hilda
Hilda's professional life started in St
Joseph, Missouri where she got her Diploma in Nursing. She moved to New York
and then continued her education obtaining her Doctor in Education. She
lives now in Chicago, where although retired she is still active in Avanta,
Black Nurses Association and as a Hospice Volunteer.
Hilda has been described as someone with
a life commitment to helping others, and to bring awareness and clarity of
the issues of justice, fairness, and cultural differences. She is dedicated and can be funny and humorous when
it is needed. Hilda has retained her drive and
ambition instilled by her mother who was her top fan through her life. When Hilda was installed as Chancellor at
Indiana University Northwest, her 83 year-old mother said "I told her the
sky is the limit. When a door opens, you put your foot in. When they say it
isn't possible, don't admit defeat."
Hilda has an "adopted" daughter Sefi Yadeta, someone Hilda
took under her wings when Sefi first arrived in the United States. And now
Hilda is a grandmother. Many of us
have seen Hilda in many Avanta's silent auction getting stuff for the little
one.
Satir Connection
In the "Satir Birthday Celebration Book", Hilda wrote about
her connection with Virginia. "I have known you for more than half of my
life! I met you in 1970, when you were doing 'month longs'... The experience
was life changing' Here I was, out in the country in Minnesota, with a
strange group of white people doing who knows what." This statement is
like a window to her humor and to her life journey as a woman of color.
Avanta as well as many others "have benefit tremendously from her dedication
and effort to bring forth our collective awareness of issues and
difficulties faced by people of color" (from nomination letter).
Hilda has been able to bring Virginia
Satir as well as her commitment to diversity throughout her career and with
such groups as the Black Nurses Association; Chancellor, Indiana University;
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Indiana University and
Dean, College of Health and Human Services, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.
Hilda was invited to join Avanta at the start, and was able
to come at the second meeting. She did a lot for and in Avanta. One of her
greatest dreams was to bring awareness to diversity issues. Although some
may fail to see this, many times it was not easy to be such a minority in
Avanta. Yet, Hilda worked hard and stayed the course. She was on the Avanta
Board for 12 years. She served for two consecutive terms from 1987 to 1993,
and from 1999 to 2005.
Beside her work on the Avanta Board she
has facilitated as a presenter and participant in a number of diversity
trainings sponsored by Avanta. Also in 1986 Hilda and her colleagues at the
College of Health and Human Services at Ohio University developed study
guides for the Virginia Family Video Series (The Chico Tapes). The Avanta
bookstore is still using the study guides as a companion to this series.
Visit
http://www.avanta.net/BookStore/Video/Video.htm to see more about these
videos.
So it has been only a year since she left the Board and she continues to stay informed and connected. As you read above she participated in the Celebration book with her letter to Virginia.