Babette Honore
Babette Honore, director of community engagement at Molina Healthcare, knows first-hand the merits of hard work, tenacity and social engagement. It was modeled to her, her twin sister, Bernadette, and her older brother (now deceased).
“We grew up on Chicago’s Southside, in a single parent household, along with my grandmother. My mother worked hard to send us to private, Catholic schools, to ensure we received a good educational base. She worked two jobs—at Marshall Field’s (now Macy’s) during the day, and third shift at the U. S. Post Office. My grandmother took care of us during the day, so we never experienced a lack of love and concern,” said Honore.
She also credits her mother with exposing her to the importance of community activism.
“My mother didn’t own a car, but she took us on the bus or cabs to various places, to ensure we had fulfilling childhood experiences. Sometimes there is the perception that just because you grew up in a single parent household, it was a bad environment. This is a myth. My mother also instilled in us a strong sense of social justice. I recall meeting Rev. Jesse Jackson, before Operation PUSH. Back then, it was Operation Bread Basket. She took us to meetings every Saturday and she made sure that we not only knew who we were, but that we contributed to the Civil Rights movement. She even marched with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Those impressions from childhood, helped shape my understanding of social justice,” said Honore.
Years later, Honore, recalls that she had the opportunity to meet with Rev. Jackson and share her story about attending those meetings and how he took her first donation when she was only nine years old.
As high school graduation approached, Honore spoke with a representative from Marquette University who came to her school to speak with college bound youth. She was intrigued with the conversation because not only was Marquette close to home, but their physical therapy program interested her.
“At the time, Sports Medicine was not a ‘thing’. I had been a cheer leader in high school and was at Marquette for a time as well, so pursuing a career related to the body’s physicality was intriguing,” she said.
Once enrolled in and attending Marquette, Honore admits that her grades didn’t reflect her interest in physical therapy.
“I was going through a phase where I didn’t appreciate that the notion of college was about going through the discipline of studying and retaining information as a requirement to get you where you needed to be. Ultimately, I changed my major to speech communication. It was a great major for me and I flourished in those classes. The lesson here is just because your first major doesn’t fit well, you will find a major that you can excel in, but it’s a matter of going through that process,” she said.
Over the years, that switch in majors has served Honore well.
“Speech communication dovetailed well with my career path. My first job out of college was in sales with Blue Cross/Blue Shield (now Anthem). Interpersonal communication in sales is a critical skill set. During my interview, the vice president handed me a pencil and asked me to sell it to him. I took it, looked at all aspects of it and communicated it in a manner that he would want to purchase it. I got the job, stayed there in various positions selling their various product lines, and left there as a marketing manager. The majority of my career has been in marketing and selling insurance, and the last years I was responsible for new markets, including the multicultural markets,” she said.
Eventually Honore left the insurance industry to work for the March of Dimes.
“I wanted to work for a company where I felt more passionate about what they were doing. The March of Dimes provided me with that opportunity because not only did I become more involved in the community, but I was making a difference to ensure babies are born healthy,” she said.
Now, as director of community engagement with Molina Healthcare, Honore’s career has come full circle, where she is able to meld her intricate knowledge of insurance products while serving the needs of the community.
“At Molina Healthcare our mission is to provide quality health services to financially vulnerable families and individuals covered by government programs, so I know we are making a difference. We work to enable people to have good quality healthcare including prenatal care. For example, we recently held a baby shower for our clients, in partnership with Milwaukee Health Services, Inc. (MHSI). The purpose of this shower was to provide an environment where expectant moms could come to gain knowledge and education about how to have good, healthy babies. We covered topics such as safe sleeping, caring for your body and even post-natal care. We even included fatherhood and the importance of dad’s involvement with mom and baby. Our goal was to help dads understand some triggers or signs that might be cause for them to get mom or baby to the clinic or outpatient.”
“As we started planning for the community baby shower, we understood that in our underserved communities, some moms don’t even have baby showers, so we created a celebratory event, providing diaper rash ointment, receiving blankets, baby wipes, onesies, footie pajamas, shampoo, baby lotion and diapers in colorful reusable bags. and even something for mom. The theme was a luau, where we had fake palm trees and leis for everyone as they walked in,” said Honore.
The event was such a hit that plans are already underway to have another similar baby shower in 2019. About 350 people attended the event, and 154 pregnant and new moms were there.
Honore loves her job and you can tell by the enthusiasm when she discusses it.
“It’s rewarding to work in an organization that values giving back to the community. I enjoy being the vessel by which change can happen. Last year, we partnered with MHSI on its Lead Initiative. With this project, we were able to provide lead testing, water filters, wet wipes for home windowsills and provided residents with information to help alleviate lead in their homes. During this seven-month period, we distributed some 400 water filters. Being able to collaborate with community groups to make something meaningful happen is the best part of the job.
“I love what I do. It’s not really a job. For me, the organizations I’ve worked for have given me the financial resources to invest in the community in a way that’s been a win-win for all,” said Honore
The mother of two adult daughters, Veraunica and Vashaun, and a grandson, Linelle, Honore enjoys spending time with family and traveling in her spare time.
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