Making an Impact

Heidi Quinonez: Growing a Career While Growing a Family

For Heidi Quinonez, the Y isn’t just a job. It’s woven into the fabric of her life.

With 15 years across multiple Y locations, including 10 of them at our Mount Laurel branch, Heidi has climbed from high school lifeguard to Operations Administrator. She has taught swim lessons, managed membership, coordinated programs, and now supports everything from grant administration to hiring to special events. But when you ask her what’s made the difference, she’ll point to something bigger than job titles.

“It really starts with your leadership team—who believes in you and can provide you with the opportunity to help you grow,” she explains. Through professional development programs and supportive leaders who saw potential she didn’t always see in herself, Heidi discovered capabilities that surprised her. “There’s been a lot of things that I thought I couldn’t do that I did.”

Finding Confidence to Lead: Zach Cardwell’s Next Gen Journey

When Zachary Cardwell, now 19, first walked into the YMCA’s Association Office as a Cristo Rey High School junior, he had no grand ambitions. He’d simply been assigned there for the semester. When NextGen staff approached him about participating in Youth and Government (YAG), he was honest: “I’m not big on government and politics.” But when a friend agreed to participate, Zach figured, why not?

As a mock delegate, he authored a bill to create bike parks in Philadelphia—a topic inspired by his father’s engineering work and the city’s vibrant bike culture. He faced heavy skepticism from rural delegates who couldn’t grasp why dedicated bike spaces mattered. But Zach pressed on, explaining how bikes are a path to freedom for many in Philadelphia. His bill passed—a victory even he was surprised by.

The Seeds We Plant: Kristen Endrick’s Story

When Kristen Endrick’s world began to unravel, she needed something to hold onto. Within six months, she’d gone through a divorce, found herself working two jobs to support three young kids, and learned that her middle daughter had been diagnosed with autism.

“My world was spiraling,” Kristen recalls. “We like to take control of the things we can, because there’s so much that we can’t.”

That search for control led her to the YMCA. She came looking for swimming lessons, hoping to give her kids some structure amid all the change. When Membership Director Wendy Kern walked her through the costs, Kristen was prepared to give up – the cost was out of her reach. But Wendy wasn’t done; she informed Kristen about the Y’s financial assistance program.