Q. What are you reading?

A. I just finished two books. The first is "Community: The Structure of Belonging" by Peter Block, and the other is "The Starfish and the Spider" by Brafman and Beckstrom. And the one I'm in the midst of now is "The Polynesian Family System in Ka'u," by Handy and Pukui. It was time for me to pick it up again in the context of the other books I was reading.

Q. How does it fit in?

A. Well they all speak to the concept of community-building. Right now that resonates with me because the YWCA is undergoing a pretty big transformation, getting back to our roots as a membership organization. It's revitalizing that sense of community, especially among women, and what that means going forward. ...

Q. What perspective do they bring you as the YWCA evolves through Downtown renovations and structural changes?

A. We're redefining our story -we're not changing it, but taking it into the future. One thing we're revitalizing is looking at the member as hero. That's a different way of thinking when you empower your member or the community. ... Each book shares a concept of family, especially when they bring in the reminder that the power is in the people, which sounds trite but is really true. So each book has been helpful in remembering who the hero is in our story — and that's really the member — and how we empower her to be stronger and healthier as a woman. ...

Instead of virtual models like Facebook or MySpace, we're a live setting where you can deepen your relationships and expand your network. Of course we need to reinvent and renovate in a way that's more relevant for women and girls today, but it's still tied to our original story.