In honor of Women’s History Month, we would like to shine a light on our Co-Founder Vicki Ramirez and Deputy C.E.O Molly Ramirez. Vicki, alongside her husband Steven, founded Shiloh House in 1985. Now, 39 years later, Vicki has the privilege of witnessing her daughter step into her shoes and continue her great work for this community.
Before starting Shiloh House, Steven and Vicki were working, raising a family, and traveling the state of Colorado to advocate for foster children. The urgent need in their community made it clear they needed to open up their own facility. Vicki made sure to work hands-on at their first residential home of 16 boys.
“We used to take the boys on vacation which was always a lot of fun. We got to see our youth graduate from our schools and gifted them their own laptops at graduation. We celebrated Christmas with the kids. The little ones would always be so excited for Santa to come visit. When we lived in the homes I would buy all the presents for the 16 kids but now we provide donated presents to hundreds of kids and families every year which is incredible to see.”- Vicki
Vicki has seen Shiloh House grow from serving 16 to 1600 youth in 2023. “Little did we know when we started the agency that we would grow to the size that we have. It’s amazing, we have accomplished all of our goals that we wanted to do when we set out. We are serving early childhood and we continue to keep serving our children and families that need it most. I pray that we can continue to serve our kids and families in the ways that we always have.”
Not only has Vicki been able to witness the growth of her organization, but has been able to see her daughter, Molly, continue her mission. Molly’s desire to carry on her parent’s mission was instilled in her from the beginning. “Helping people is rooted in me and in my blood. I grew up watching my parents constantly open our home up to those who were in need. They are both helpers to their core and that desire to help and support others was distilled in me by being able to watch how they lived their lives.”
Molly’s passion for helping others led her to achieve a degree in Sociology and a Master’s in Social Work. After graduating, Molly dove right into her work at Shiloh House and her leadership in the agency was instinctive; “ I have always enjoyed leadership and the concept of supporting people to grow and succeed. When I first started in my career I supervised one person and a small program. Fortunately, as Shiloh grew, additional leadership opportunities opened up which allowed me to naturally move through the agency.”
Today, Molly is the Deputy CEO at Shiloh House. The example her parents set guides her daily. “Through my parents, I learned to be people-centered and to put what is in the best interest of our youth and staff first. I learned how to show up and give grace to others regardless of the situation. I want to be the type of leader who has surrounded myself with people who excel in their arenas because if my team excels, then the agency succeeds, which is all I want as a leader.”
Overall, Molly continues to build on the foundation her parents laid at Shiloh House.“We have always been an agency that can pivot quickly and start new programming to better serve the community. Shiloh will be an agency that will always be driven by putting the community first and building up a workforce that is prepared to serve youth and families the way they deserve to be served.” We are grateful for both Vicki and Molly’s dedication to healing our community!