Where I Work: YMCA’s Denise Woodin
Where I Work showcases people who work in Rye. The feature is inspired in part by exploring how the pandemic has impacted our work environment and part by wanting to understand how and where people work inside the City of Rye.
Your Name: Denise Woodin
Your Company: Rye YMCA
MyRye.com: What do you do?
Woodin: Director of Community Impact and Social Responsibility. I wear a lot of hats: community outreach, volunteer management, marketing, development. The Rye Y is the fiscal agent for RyeACT (Rye Action for Children and Teens), so I also handle the bill paying and federal grant reporting for RyeACT.
Where do you work?
Woodin: I’ve worked for the Rye Y for almost 9.5 years. When the Y was closed due to the pandemic, I worked from my home in Dobbs Ferry. After we reopened last fall, I gradually returned to my office at the Y, first 2 days a week, then 3, then 4. I now typically work from my office 4 days a week and at home one day a week.
Describe your desk and office.
Woodin: I’m fortunate to have my own office on the second floor of the Y. I’m in a small office suite that houses two of my Y colleagues, the Rye Youth Council, and Kids’ Space (The Rye Y rents space to those two organizations). My office is windowless, but bright and pleasant, and I keep the door open most of the time.
I have a monitor and speakers on my standing desk, which sits on a larger desk. On my regular desk is a phone, hand sanitizer, a box of tissues, and a mug filled with pens, markers, pencils and a “magic wand” a colleague once gave me, because “at the Y, we make magic happen.”
I have a plaque from when I received the Y’s “Excellence in Innovation” award in 2014. My colleague Lisa Tidball and I started “Voices from the Community: The Rye Y Story Project” in 2012. Every year we interview our members and staff about their Rye Y story. This year, we’re celebrating our 10th annual Story Project!
I have artwork my daughter created when she was young, and photos of her. I also have beautiful photos of flowers, some of which were taken by a close friend, and a brightly colored fish mobile, which was my daughter’s. When she outgrew it, I put it in my office. And there’s usually dark chocolate in my office for a mid afternoon pick-me-up!
