Board of Directors Profile

Christine Babett
Brandywine YMCA
“I can exercise anywhere, but I choose the Y because there is a sense of spirit, community and positive mission,” said Christine Babett, chair of the Brandywine YMCA board of governors and also the 2007 Brandywine Strong Kids Campaign.
Her loyalty to the Y began when she was just a child. She began with ballet and watching her mother in needlework classes at the Kings Street YWCA before coming to the Brandywine YMCA to compete in freestyle and butterfly swimming. She began with the 10-and-under group and stayed with it all through high school.
As her schooling advanced, and later – in her 20’s, 30’s and 40’s – as her career took off, she always kept coming back to the YMCA. In recent years, she has been involved in yoga, Pilates, and muscle pump classes. She also participated in the Brandywine YMCA’s pilot “At Last” wellness program, which emphasizes balancing the elements of spirit, mind and body through exercise guidance, nutrition, and healthy habits.
Christine attended the Tatnall School, showing early signs of being “naturally extroverted” through sports, drama, and community service organizations. She attended Georgetown School of Foreign Service, then studied Linguistics & History at the University of Delaware with study abroad in Dijon, France.
Christine started working in banking to help pay off college bills while still in school and was selected for Bank of Delaware management training before she graduated. She left seven years later after Bill Bradley, “a nice guy I met at a trim-a-tree holiday party,” became her husband. He is an account executive for AT Systems (Armored Transport). They have been married 21 years.
As part of her banking job, she was also speaking to groups of 20-500 people, facilitating the transition from manual transactions to electronic banking. This experience developing distribution channels became more valuable as her career progressed.
When an opportunity occurred for her to go into the travel industry, she jumped at the chance to satisfy her love of travel. She ended up visiting all the continents – with the exception of Australia – over the next 12 years.
Christine’s work in the travel industry led her to “audition” for a project management job involving entrepeneurial work on web-based interfaces for the travel industry. She got the job at an Internet “incubator” in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the results were so rewarding, she could retire at an early age. It wasn’t long, however, before friends at QVC in West Chester convinced her to join them. Now she handles QVC’s in-house special events for production and customers on a part time basis.
Christine doesn’t miss an opportunity to promote the Y, noting that her husband has been involved with the Y since he was in Indian Guides as a youth. Her sister, her niece, her mother and mother-in-law also use the Y. She said through the YMCA she has reconnected with lifelong friends and met many more.
Since she has been on the Brandywine Y board, there has been a transition in the board and strong partnerships are developing. The board has completed strategic planning and is developing a culture of philanthropy.
“The frequency and level of her involvement is remarkably strong,” said Jim Ryan, executive director of the Brandywine YMCA. “Christine is bright, dynamic and passionate. I can’t think of a better advocate for the Y.”
Why does she put so much into an organization known for its gyms and pools?
“The YMCA is so much more than a ‘swim-and-gym’ place: people need to realize the YMCA is a charity,” she added emphatically. “Our neighborhoods are improved through our mission to make strong kids, strong families and strong communities.”