By Asia Nail
The Truth Reporter
When Candice L. Harrison got the call, she was on her way home from honoring other women.
She had just left the SHINE Women’s Summit, where women gather each year to celebrate leadership and impact. She serves on that committee. Serving is what she does. So when her phone buzzed and she saw a message from YWCA CEO Lisa McDuffie about the Milestones Award, she did not expect the surprise waiting for her.
“I was floored,” Candice stated. “Completely surprised and incredibly proud.”
She was sitting next to her husband. She wanted to tell the news to her closest colleagues, but she had to keep it quiet until the official announcement. For over a week, she carried the joy like a secret gift in her pocket.
During Women’s History Month in March, the YWCA will present Candice L. Harrison with the Milestones Award for Volunteerism. A fitting tribute for a woman whose entire life has been shaped by service, and who now shapes the lives of others.
But if you ask Candice what connects her career, her volunteer work and her family life, the answer is simple.
“People,” she says. “It’s always about people.”
A Heart Formed by Service
Harrison serves as director of Inclusion and Community Impact at SSOE Group. She oversees the diversity, equity and inclusion programs while assisting the organization with its philanthropic efforts and community-based initiatives. Before that, she held leadership roles at Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Museum of Art, and The Toledo Zoo and Aquarium.
No matter where Harrison went, she was always telling stories, building bridges and helping organizations communicate with the public. To this day, she says she still sees herself as a communicator at heart.
Long before she earned these professional titles, Candice was a child being raised with her grandmother.
“When I was a young girl, we didn’t have a lot of money,” Harrison explains.
Growing up in a financially limited household, Harrison’s grandmother relied heavily on social security. Volunteers often came to assist them, and individuals donated their time and energy so that their family could receive necessary services.
She remembers that experience vividly.
Now that she is in a position to give back, she sees it differently.
“Now I feel like I’m in a position to do the same for others, I have a responsibility,” she shares. “I actually, genuinely have a heart to serve. I enjoy it. I thrive in it.”
Choosing Service with Intention
Harrison serves on the board of Central Catholic High School, her alma mater. She is president-elect of the Rotary Club of Toledo and she is past president of the Toledo Press Club. She also serves on the board of The Art Tatum Zone, which focuses on mentoring young people.
But she did not always serve this way.
Early in her career, she said yes to almost every opportunity. If someone asked her to join a board or committee, she felt honored.
Then life got fuller. She had children. She had a husband. She had a household to manage. She learned something important: saying yes to everything can turn passion into pressure.
“I had to ask myself,” she recalls, “Is this something I would give my own money to support?”
That question changed everything.
Now she serves where her heart beats the loudest: youth, education, leadership. She believes in building ladders for the next generation instead of guarding the ones she climbed.
“You don’t want to get to a point where you’re just standing in the way,” she says. “We have to equip the next generation.”
A Message to Young Women
Candice offers direct words of wisdom to young professionals; particularly young Black women who are entering into leadership spaces.
First: You do not have to know everything.
“Part of growing as a leader is not being afraid to say, ‘I don’t know,’ and then go find out,” she adds.
Second: If you are in the room, you belong there.
Too many women shrink back. They stay quiet because they worry about how they will be received. Harrison cautions against that behavior.
“If you were invited into the room, you deserve to be there,” she emphasizes.
And third: “Be a girl’s girl. Do not be a hater.”
There is enough opportunity for everyone. Enough jobs. Enough money. Enough seats at the table.
“When somebody else shines, it doesn’t dim your light,” she says.
The Role She Loves Most
Harrison holds many titles. She made history as the first African American woman to serve as president of the Press Club of Toledo. She has earned awards and recognition across the region.
But when asked what matters most, she does not hesitate.
“Being a wife and a mother,” she says warmly.
Candice and her husband Brandon, a detective with the Toledo Police Department, show love through acts of service, and have been married 18 years. Together they are raising Tre and Brooklynn.
Her children have seen her earn degrees. They have seen her juggle work and service. They have also seen her grow.
“My son saw me grind,” she said. As a young mother, she brought him along to work events. He watched her earn her bachelor’s degree. Later, he saw her complete her master’s.
Her daughter has seen a more stable version of her mother. But both children have essentially seen the same thing: service.
They have packed food bags. They have volunteered. Sometimes they did not want to wake up early. But they went.
Now, service is part of who they are.
“They absorb what you do,” Candice explains. “They become little versions of you.”
That truth makes her intentional. It also makes her proud.
When her children look back one day, she hopes they see a mother who meant well. A woman who cared deeply. A leader who never forgot people who had less.
“I hope they remember that I did not just climb, I reached back.”
A New Generation of Dreamers
The YWCA Milestones Luncheon celebrates women who make history by how they live, not just what they achieve. Harrison lives in a way that invites others to dream again.
She is proof that a little girl raised by strong women, supported by volunteers, can grow up to lead major institutions and still show up to pack food bags on a Saturday afternoon.
She is proof that you can hold power and still hold people close.
She is proof that leadership is not about being the only one in the room. It is about opening the door wider.
In a world that often feels divided and loud, Candice L. Harrison offers a simple message: Serve. Support. Step aside when it is time. Lift as you climb.
And maybe most important of all, believe there is enough room for all of us.
Learn more about the YWCA Milestones celebration and this year’s honorees here