In my late 30s, I found out I was in Foster Care as a baby until my grandparents eventually adopted me. I never knew my dad; my mom suffered with schizophrenia, and my earliest childhood memories are with my grandparents. As you can imagine, this life experience showed me firsthand how vital any and all support is for those in need. I had so much support/help along the way. While I had some challenges in the hand life dealt me, those challenges and all the special people in my life made me who I am today.Today, as the President and CEO of CONCERN, I lead a dedicated team that provides crucial services, including foster care, adoption, permanency, community-based prevention programs, behavioral health services, and residential treatment. Although my formal training was in clinical therapy, I quickly realized that I could make a broader impact by moving into the administrative side of behavioral health and human services.I’m proud to play an integral part in opening more Programs. The more Programs we can open, the more kids/families we can help!At CONCERN, each and every one of us live and breathe our Mission to bring hope, offer opportunity, and inspire change. We do this by bringing communities together, helping those with mental health concerns, and providing a lifeline for those most in need.One of the most difficult and also most rewarding aspects of what we do at CONCERN is recruiting foster families to ensure we can provide safe and loving homes for children in need. In the same regard, one of the coolest things I do as the CEO is sign the documentation that finalizes an adoption. That’s paperwork I love doing and signing!None of this is possible without the teamwork and camaraderie among my colleagues at CONCERN. Our people make us the organization we are, and it’s the people I work side by side with that make the “work” of helping others so enjoyable. Together, we’ve built a positive culture that drives us to make a difference every day. It’s a team effort, and I’m incredibly proud of our work helping children, families, and individuals find the care and stability they deserve.
