Miriam Evonne West

Miriam was the founding director of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative Mentoring Program and a retired thirty-year educator of the Cincinnati Public Schools. She was appointed by the Cincinnati Public Schools superintendent in 1989 to develop a youth mentoring program that would affect the lives of Cincinnati Public School students. Under her leadership, with a supportive staff, community volunteers and John Pepper, former CEO of The Procter & Gamble Company, she established one of the largest single-site mentoring programs in the United States. Cincinnati Youth Collaborative became one of the most effective mentoring programs serving more than 2,000 youths annually. Miriam recruited, trained, and supported thousands of community volunteers. During her tenure (1989-2003) The Cincinnati Youth Collaborative (CYC) received numerous local and national awards and recognitions.

One highlight of Miriam’s tenure at CYC was in 1996 when John Pepper invited her to join President William J. Clinton to be part of a community round-table discussion at Xavier University to discuss quality initiatives for improving the lives of children. Two years later, the program was recognized by the Governor of Ohio as one of “Ohio’s Best Practices” – one of only 38 educational programs to receive the honor.

The PEW Partnership for Civil Change in 2001 awarded Miriam and CYC with their “Wanted Solutions of America” award. In 2003, CYC was recognized by the Associated Press as a national mentoring model and the US Department of Education awarded CYC more than $500,000 to expand its services.

Miriam has been recognized with numerous awards including:
Enquirer Woman of the Year (1995)
Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction Award Jacob Davis Volunteer Leadership Award Talbert House Community Service Award
The Fifth Third Bank Profiles in Courage Award
Lighthouse Youth Service’s Beacon of Light Humanitarian Award
The Cincinnati Herald’s Nefertiti Award
The Zonta International Award
Urban League’s Glorifying the Lions Award

Miriam also shared her time and talent with many Cincinnati civic and social organizations. She was a past board member of the YWCA, CET, Xavier University Alumni Board of Governors, the University of Cincinnati Alumni Association Board of Governors, and the Central Clinic Foundation Board.

She was also a founding member of the Friends of Freedom (Ambassadors) and the Links Youth Docent Program at the National Underground Freedom Center. Despite severe hearing loss in 2004, Miriam continued to share her gifts with Cincinnati’s most influential and important non-profits and other agencies. Miriam was a proud member of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Links, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the Cincinnati Chapter of The Girl Friends, Inc. and a NAACP volunteer.

Miriam was a life-long resident of Cincinnati, Ohio and a graduate of Hughes High School. Miriam earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Education at the University of Cincinnati and her Master of Education from Xavier University.

Miriam Evonne West passed away on January 16, 2024, at age seventy-nine (79) years. She was preceded in death by her beloved brother Earnest Kennedy, father William H. Kennedy and stepfather Arthur (“Ike”) Williams. She is survived by her husband, John Andrew West, sister Sylvia L. Kennedy, Mother Mildred Kennedy Williams, daughter Melissa West and a host of other relatives.

Services will be held on Saturday, January 27, 2024 at Allen Temple AME Church, located at 7080 Reading Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45237. Visitation will start at 9:30 A.M. and conclude at 11:30 A.M. Alpha Kappa Alpha Ivy Beyond the Wall Service will take place at 11:00 A.M. Funeral service will begin at 11:30 A.M. Burial will be at Oak Hill Cemetery, 11200 Princeton Pike, Springdale, Ohio.

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