Karen Kahle is the stuff movements are made of.
Some people wait for change and others go out and do it their way, and Kahle is doing just that. She works for the Children’s Defense Fund of Cincinnati (CDFC) and is responsible for the Kentucky Welfare Reform Act.
But CDFC does more than get abused children out of problem homes.
“The CDFC goal is not to scream about the issues,” Kahle says. “We’re here to sit down and discuss how we can start shaping changes, in welfare as well as government housing.”
Unlike other non-profit groups, the CDFC receives no government funding, operating instead solely on foundations and grants. Like other non-profits, it’s staffed with dedicated people laboring long hours to save families.
Kahle is constantly commuting to Washington, D.C., and Columbus trying to fight for major changes for the poor. Sometimes those changes are incremental. And women like her often go unheralded.
When asked how she’d change the world as a woman, her answer is direct, landing squarely with parental responsibility.
“The only way this world will change is when mothers start raising better sons,” Kahle says. “If the men want to run the country, that’s fine. But they got a hell of a lot of improving to do. The problem is men work to win and women work for change.”
One thing among many Kahle wants changed is the perception of certain public policies as being gender identified.
“People think that welfare reform is a woman’s issue, but the fact of the matter is that it isn’t,” she says. “It impacts everyone, including those who aren’t even on it. The only way to exorcise these ideas is to get out in the community and start shaping it.”
From that, it would seem Kahle’s definition of power would be based in the power of one. Not so.
“The only good power is the kind that’s fueled by partnerships,” Kahle says. “Other types of power end up exploiting someone, and I’m proud to be a part of that former type of power.”
This article appears in May 8-14, 2002.