2021 Business Excellence Winner: Jessica Cantin of YWCA New Hampshire

Jessica Cantin, CEO of YWCA New Hampshire, is the Business Excellence recipient in the Social Equity category for a small organization

Jessica Cantin is the CEO of YWCA New Hampshire, a social justice organization part of a federated movement of YWCA associations across the country. She also is an adjunct instructor for Southern New Hampshire University in their undergraduate social sciences program. Ms. Cantin has over 23 years of progressive experience in both public and private sectors supporting individuals and families in New Hampshire. She holds her master’s of science in organizational management and leadership in human services from Springfield College and completed her undergraduate studies in social work and counseling with Franklin Pierce University. For over a decade, she has been a public speaker at local, regional and national events on her experiences as a survivor of domestic violence and childhood trauma, adverse childhood experiences, child and family development and creating trauma-informed communities. She is one of the co-developers of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Response Team (ACERT) and the Southern New Hampshire University Center for New Americans. In recent years, she received the Nick Halias Award from New Futures for her work on developing ACERT and the Loeffler Prize from SNHU for her work in the Manchester community. She is the president of the National Association of YWCA Executives and the president of the Manchester Rotary Club. She resides in Manchester with her husband and children.