Employee appreciation at the Villa!

There are so many nice things to say about the talented and compassionate people who work at Villa of Hope; so we said them!

For 5 days, we celebrated each other and the important work we do here, for an Employee Appreciation Week marked by small in-person gatherings and refreshments, large zoom meetings for those offsite, and wonderful thoughts that people put into words about co-workers. This is employee appreciation at the Villa! We hope you enjoy the photos and the kind words as much as we did!

Behavioral Health Staff

Team Detox
My detox team has been working diligently on hiring, figuring out training needs, and working out of all of our comfort zones to get the detox up and running. They really are my dream team. They go above and beyond every day driving this idea of creating a better life for those needing services in our community.

-Michelle Medina

Michelle, Tony & Andrea are have been doing a great job since they started and they are doing an awesome job getting things off the ground. We are looking so forward to what they and the rest of the Detox team will accomplish!

-Lindsay Gozzi-Theobald

Team Integrated Behavioral Health Clinic
The BHS clinic continues to work as a strong and collaborative team moving the department through growth and changes to address the demands of the community. The team has persevered through staff turnovers, additions of new team members, and the COVID pandemic. Successes and accomplishments from 2021 include but are not limited to: the development and hiring of newly created positions such as; an intake coordinator, intake evaluator, clinical training manager, health information management specialist, director, hiring of additional clinical supervisors and therapists to meet needs, development and launching of groups, team, and department cultural initiatives such as a Wall of Stars, Kudos raffle and team building events.

During the pandemic, the staff was able to make a quick shift to the provision of services in new and creative ways through telehealth means. The team has taken time to support clients to learn how to use this new technology and continue to support clients with exploring the most appropriate and successful mode to meet their need for trust and safety.

Thank you to all staff for your exceptional work and dedication!

-Jacqui Compagnoni

The clinic has been through a tremendous amount of growth and change and our team there has risen to the occasion each and every time. We know the hard work they do to serve the people in our community that needs it most and we are so looking forward to a bright future under Jacquie and Kimberly’s leadership!

-Lindsay Gozzi-Theobald

Team eCr Core Team
The eCr Core team has done an amazing job of moving toward implementation putting in blood sweat and tears when time is tight!

-Lindsay Gozzi-Theobald

Community Programs Staff

Team Aftercare

My aftercare team is very dedicated and passionate about the work that they do. They are firecrackers. They are reliable and I can always count on them to get things done. My ladies are a great group of fun with lots of positive energy.

-Briana Watson

Team Care Coordination/Health Homes

The Adult Health Home team has continued to provide exceptional services amidst the pandemic and increased needs of the community. In addition to their regular day-to-day responsibilities, they have also obtained food donations for dozens of families, assisted with ongoing housing needs, and coordinated donations of meals for the holidays and bicycles this past summer. They continually set the bar high for the standard of care, especially compared to other CMAs in our region. They are so great with sharing resources with each other and everyone is quick to jump in and help anytime another team member is in need. As reported by several clients, they are “lifesavers” and continue to show up without judgment no matter what. The team has enrolled over 70 clients into the program so far this year. In addition, over the past year, the program has expanded to now also provide Health Home Plus services which provide an even higher level of care to those clients who are eligible and in need. And 21 clients have successfully graduated from the AHH program this year, all thanks to the amazing, hardworking, dedicated AHH team!

–Mindy Kirby

The Children’s Case Management team (Health Homes and Care Coordination) is a group of passionate and dedicated professionals. We continue to be so proud of their resiliency and achievements over the past year! They have shown that they can be flexible, creative, and grow the program successfully in a time of global unease, uncertainty, and hardship. Everyone’s willingness to move their mindset to one of growth and change beyond their comfort zones, and look at the bigger picture has contributed to our accomplishments.

They successfully transitioned to a mobile staff structure during the pandemic, all while we were still able to expand our program to include another Supervisor, Intake Coordinator, and several additional Care Managers. Within both programs, we are currently serving around 400 youth in 6 different counties! We continue to remain family-focused and financially viable during a changing environment in the mental health field. This is a tough balance, and the team’s strength-based perspective and dedication contribute to this every day. Everyone continues to be flexible and open-minded as new and ever-changing COVID restrictions are put into place.

Over the past few months, in particular, our team has been supporting families by advocating for what is best for their youth during the transition back to school. They have assisted youth with achieving updated school accommodations, home-learning plans and after-school support to ensure youth are equipped to be successful. They have also been thinking outside of the box to connect youth to recreational activities and social outlets throughout the pandemic. They have been so creative with engagement ideas in order to follow changing guidelines while staying connected to youth and their families. The staff has used art and crafts to engage youth over zoom and created socially distanced games during in-person visits in order to build and maintain positive relationships.

The individual talent and expertise we see on our team are inspiring. Above all, the team is compatible and ensures that working together to brainstorm, achieve goals, and support one another is a priority. The respect and caring about one another the team shows is invaluable. Thank you so much for all of your hard work and dependability, we appreciate it more than you could ever know!!!

– Robin, Matt, Krista, Kristin, Zoe

Team Children and Family Treatment and Support Services/Home and Community-Based Services

The CFTSS/HCBS teams have been able to grow and flourish under Grace’s leadership! We are working through waitlists and moving toward a bright new future!!

-Lindsay Gozzi-Theobald

Team Community Apartment Program

My cap team (new, old &current staff) is very knowledgeable with lots of great experience. They are go-getters and no matter what. They manage documentation paperwork and hold relationships with youth and county. They just Rock!

-Briana Watson

Team Hope Place

Hope Place – is our community gem that continues to help those in our community each and every day! Thank you to the team there and the per diem team that has helped them to stay open during times of transition!

-Lindsay Gozzi-Theobald

Team Intake

I am SO very grateful and so thankful to the intake team. The Intake Department is a very small group but tasked with a great deal of responsibility and volume, which has continued to increase, as we stepped up efforts toward reaching an overarching strategic goal of agency centralization, believing that centralization will assist with better and more efficient service provision to both internal and external recipients. In addition to providing direct support to the majority of agency programs, intake has also established a central triage system which affords the ability to triage inquiries that are coming into the agency and attempt to link them to any number of our agency services and programs. Being able to remain agile and provide the continued degree of support during the pandemic has been a significant achievement, and I am truly incredibly appreciative of the intake group; the staff work so well as a team, covering for one another when needed, and have such an ability to engage youth and families. The Villa is fortunate to have Brett, Jen, and Tanner as the “face” of the agency and I cannot thank them enough for all of their efforts- there is no way the Department could have met any of its goals without each one of their invaluable contributions!

-Jay Gullo

Jay and his team have adapted and overcome a ton of change and continue to be the first to say let’s try something new. Kudos to them for helping to fill gaps in our fee-for-service programs that will help them to grow and thrive into strong futures.

-Lindsay Gozzi-Theobald

Team Juvenile Reporting Center (JRC)

During the pandemic, JRC also continued to complete monthly home visits to assess the needs of our families. We assisted with providing our families with cleaning supplies, PPE, and other items. The JRC team has worked very hard in 2021 to improve program opportunities for youth, including, but not limited to implementing a DEI&B group, training in the ropes course, partnering with probation to run several groups, as well as partnering with the prevention team to run groups on drug and alcohol awareness. The JRC staff continue to work hard daily to meet the needs of our families and youth.

-Jackie Ryan

Team Preventive Aftercare/Transitional/General Counseling

During the pandemic, the preventive team worked hard, and diligently, to meet the needs of our families. Preventive continued to complete face-to-face home visits with families during the pandemic to assess for safety, provide services, and meet the needs of our families. The preventive team continues to strive to provide best practices and support our families, we almost have a 100% CPS indication prevention rate! Preventive is a very close-knit team that continues to support each other through the pandemic.

-Jackie Ryan

Team Tuckahoe

It is known that Tuckahoe Road Community Residence maintains a culture dedicated to the spirit of our youth while providing a therapeutic and dynamic environment for clients and staff to learn and grow. However, much can be said about these past two years and how they have challenged Tuckahoe. This year in particular has brought unprecedented challenges that tested the very foundations of the program’s culture and longevity. Through these challenges, the team has gone through a continuous phase of self-reflection, both individually and as a unit. This introspection has brought many of us through times of uncertainty and instability and has hopefully prepared us for a new chapter of transformation that will bring us into the new year. We are a small but mighty team, and with the support of others in the agency, we have maintained some valuable roots in our foundation.

We wrap up this year with our small team steadily growing with new, passionate people who are looking to make a difference in the lives of the youth we serve. It is unknown what the new year will bring, but the spirit and energy of Tuckahoe and its team will always be a constant. I want to recognize the Tuckahoe team for their continued resilience and determination and their willingness to always find a reason to smile & laugh, even in the toughest times.

-Mary Laing

Staff from Tuckahoe Group Home at their Employee Appreciation Celebration

Team Workforce Development

LeVar and Lashan quickly filled a gap to start eviction prevention from the ground up and personally process over 150 applications without staff. We are so fortunate to have them on our team!

-Lindsay Gozzi-Theobald

Residential, School and Campus Staff

Team Agnes

St. Agnes has had its share of challenges within the last year. At the beginning of the year, our program saw challenging behaviors and staffing issues. Throughout the year, the St. Agnes team looked to alleviate these challenges so that we can best support the youth. As a team, we went from having 46 significant incidents in the month of March and brought that number down consistently each month. In the month of September, the program only had one significant incident. On top of lowering the number of significant incidents, the team has done an amazing job filling open shifts to support each other. The St. Agnes team is extremely dedicated and passionate about the youth that we serve and consistently finds ways to improve.

– Joseph Castrechino

Team APEX

Our team at Apex is the most resilient team I have ever worked with. Through the pandemic, staffing changes, and struggles with youth, our team continues to show up. Not only do they show up regularly they do it gracefully and without complaints. We rely on each other’s strengths and build up our weaknesses in times of need. We have become more than a team we are a family. Our staff ensures our youth understand that their past will never define their future if they make positive changes today. We are in this together and will work through any and all situations that come our way. One Band One Sound. I am and will be forever grateful for the Apex team.

– Davisha Jackson

Team Facilities

During the pandemic, the Facilities Operation team was essential staff. Purchasing was responsible for ordering all PPE equipment and keeping the nursing staff and all cottage staff stocked. We put into place a calendar for fogging all areas that were being used every 20 days or as needed with the Rochester Maintenance company. FO continued with the day-to-day work orders during these trying times. Facilities ended up purchasing our own fogging machine and chemicals. We did a learning process with the techs to teach them how to do the fogging, this saving the agency over $1500.00 dollars per cottage monthly down to pennies for the chemical through our vendor by us doing the work.

Shirley McCown and Daniel LaFleur did a tremendous job in finding PPE for the agency and researching prices as gloves and masks, gowns, sanitizer were skyrocketing in price. They kept inventory on all of the supplies for reimbursement. Keeping food supplies up was another challenge, making sure we had a 60 day supply in case of any emergency. We were able to feed the clients and the staff. Great job Purchasing.

FO techs battled the front lines also with all the brave staff being in cottages and having to get all geared up so no one else would get infected.

– Mike LaFleur

Team Facilities at their celebration

Team Health Services

The Health Services team continues to support our youth as COVID remains active in our community. The nurses are maintaining routine testing of our youth and educating them on the importance of infection control, mask-wearing, and vaccines. The department also is making great strides in responding to both the OMH and OASAS audits from 2021. Areas of focus for 2021 are responding to DOH guidelines for infection control, hiring, and bringing all clients up to date with routine immunizations. The Health Services team continues to demonstrate support for one another and has shown resilience during a difficult year. The nurses have been covering for each other, supporting clients and families, and supporting residential programs during a time of great staff shortage. We are thankful for the Health Services Team!

– Becky Yanklowski

Team LIFE House

Our team here at Life is a very resilient team. We have remained diligent and vigilant through all the staffing changes and shortages and struggles that accompany what we do in this field. We seem to get through all the tough times when it seems like there is nothing left to give we find it to give. I have never worked with a stronger group of folk.

– Marcus Allen

The life team continues to show strength and resilience as we a lot of changes to staffing in 2021. We had several periods of COVID quarantine and isolation, which the team handled with determination and respect for everyone’s safety. We currently have 3 staff enrolled in the CASAC program at Alfred State. They demonstrate teamwork and time management skills as they continue to work towards their professional goals together. We had a significant decrease in incidents throughout 2021 and hope to continue this momentum as we close out the year. We had a successful OASAS audit in September and are working towards more training opportunities to strengthen overall programming. We are thankful for the Life Team!

– Becky Yanklowski

Team OCFS/OMH Management Team

The management team that supports our OCFS and OMH residential programs are an amazing group of leaders. They consistently go above and beyond to ensure the safety of our youth and staff. They have led with grace and pose through a trying time in the world. They have faced bouts of Covid with youth and staff. They have faced many losses both at work and within their personal lives, yet they still rise. This team epitomizes what Villa stands for They have rebuilt our foundation in the face of a pandemic, they have recovered the trust of the community by remaining professional in the face of uncertainty, they have renewed the fire, passion and trust, and determination of their teams to provide the best treatment possible for our youths, families, and communities. It has been a pleasure to lead and work alongside this team. They are a true asset to the organization, it’s my honor to lead this team.

– De’Von Greene

Team Residential Clinical

The Residential Clinical team is truly Amazing. Every team member goes above and beyond for the youth and families they serve. The staff is flexible with how they teach DBT, Life Skills, and Psycho-Education groups; either on-campus and or in the community. They collaborate with one another, youth and families (in the community and/or in their homes), and internal and external providers. What makes this team truly amazing: they continue to show up with a positive attitude; they are youth-driven and family focus!! We can’t do this work without you!! THANK YOU RESIDENTIAL CLINICAL TEAM FOR ALL YOU DO!!!

– Denise Hynson

Team Staff Skills Development

The team has been working hard on the development of residential staff throughout the agency. We have continued to support programs on the floor, in the moment as well as various scheduled trainings. Training provided in the past few months has been TCI 7, CPR-First Aid, Cottage Routine and Program Management, Incident Writing, and Functional Behavior Analysis. Each member of the team has become a TCI 7 trainer which has made the change from TCI 6 a smooth transition for programs. We continue to partner with the OE team for new hire orientation, bringing a client-focused outlook. Two members of the SSDS team are Campus Support and work overnights each day of the week to ensure the safety of the campus. The SSDS team brings over 80 years of combined residential experience. I am very proud to be a member of the SSDS team as they continue to go above and beyond to support staff members and the young people we serve.

– Michael Pechie

Team School

The School Staff is REMARKABLE! Our theme this year is IMPOSSIBLE, Nothing! Our staff responded to the pandemic… They were in the building making hard copies of work to keep students engaged. They quickly responded to the need for technology connections…learned zoom, taught themselves how to use Microsoft Teams…made calls, talked to youth on and offline…They responded to the Hybrid Model, finding new and innovative ways to engage youth in the learning process online and in-person. We remained open…the staff reinforced and monitored COVID protocols to keep everyone healthy and safe. We were successful in graduating 15 youth by the end of August.

Their resilience, flexibility, patience, perseverance is like no other…I wish I could broadcast to the world that this is the best school staff…EVER! This summer we returned fully in-person…it was rough…students and staff needed to readjust to the new normal…they did it…and now…we opened a new school year with success. Behaviors have improved, attendance is good, students are engaged academically and socially. All staff…have come to work ready to pitch in and do whatever it takes to help each of our students feel welcome and cared for. They love each other, we are family…and it shows in all that we do! Thank you Villa of Hope School Staff…you are REMARKABLE!

– Kim Ward

Team Transportation

Throughout this past year, my per diem transport staff have been resilient, dedicated, and flexible on multiple occasions. I appreciate their hard work and efforts to stay in compliance with mandatory training. They have been essential in keeping the youth on consistent home visits by providing safe and efficient transportation. Throughout this past year, my per diem transport staff have been resilient, dedicated, and flexible on multiple occasions. I appreciate their hard work and efforts to stay in compliance with mandatory training. They have been essential in keeping the youth on consistent home visits by providing safe and efficient transportation.

– Shanquell Robinson

Support Department Staff

Team Agency Advancement

High fives all around for rolling with myriad changes on our team, in the community, and with our ability to be out in public with donors.

Kudos to Catherine for securing the first $100k gift in recent memory (at least 12 years!) and for pulling off Golf and Gala under the toughest conditions and exceeding her net goals. All that on top of launching our first Major Gifts Initiative and Champion of Hope Society for major donors committing for 3 years (email Catherine.orlandini@villaofhope.org ) to find out how to join! We are proud of our co-Chair of OLT – and so lucky she made the choice to come to the Villa 5 years ago!!

Jean has continued producing award-winning work in video and print marketing winning 8 awards during the pandemic!! Everything you see – website, videos, social media, brochures, logos, fliers…that’s all Jean! She is highly sought after for her creativity and beautiful work. We are blessed she chooses the Villa every day!

And Jonathan! Celebrating his eighth month at the Villa, Jonathan has helped us take our grant submissions to a new height! Working closely with our consultant, program staff, ELT, and finance the Villa has more proposals out than ever! Jonathan brings a wealth of DEI&B experience and knowledge and is sharing that with the Villa in our journey. Also, appointed to the AFP GLOBAL Board of Advisors and named a 30 Under 30 Next Gen Hispanic Executive, the Villa is lucky he has chosen us!

This team throws their heart and soul into our work regardless of challenges and hurdles – keeping a positive outlook. I am so proud to work with this team, and humbled by their commitment, innovation, and success. A+ Team, for sure!!

– Gerianne Puskas

The Advancement Team and members of the IT team taking a selfie during their celebration.

Team Executive Assistant

Erika has continued to support ELT, Board, and OLT as needed during a chaotic year where we moved many things remote. She always has been and continues to be the glue that keeps us together and straight. I depend on her and so appreciate her understanding of our culture and the representation she gives to those who interact with her. Thank You!

– Christina Gullo

Team Human Resources and Organizational Excellence

We recognize our Payroll and Leave Administrator, Cathy Zambito; on behalf of the HR/OE team, I’d like to express our sincere admiration for Cathy’s outstanding support and oversight of the Villa’s payroll and leave administration processes. The endless amount of time she’s spent ensuring payroll is processed on time and correctly, as well as the professionalism and compassion she consistently displays to ensure staff are appropriately compensated during times of disability or leaves of absence are indicative of her hard work and dedication to the Villa and our Sanctuary principles.

Thank you Cathy for all you do. You are indeed an inspiration to us, and play an essential role on our team and in the Agency!

-April Hill

The Human Resources/Organizational Excellence team is small but mighty! Since the onset of the pandemic, HR/OE has dug deep, demonstrating agility, and flexibility while promoting the Villa’s mission, vision, values, and moving HR metrics. Our staff has adapted to changed organizational priorities, modifying orientation and training platforms. The team has displayed initiative while undergoing condensed learning of their roles as a result of changes to team dynamics. New team members have “hit the ground running” as they’ve assumed their roles and learned while doing. They’ve adopted a customer-focused approach intensifying recruitment efforts and responsiveness by engaging 2 new experienced recruiters and an HR Assistant, as well as utilizing the institutional knowledge and experience of tenured staff members to help screen candidates and participate in community recruitment events. Additionally, they’ve collaborated internally providing coverage for Residential shifts, as well as partnered with Villa customers delivering DEI &B programs and COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

Aesop once said, “in union there is strength.” We are proud to be a part of the union that is Human Resources/Organizational Excellence!

– April Hill and Christine Staheli

Members of the Human Resources and Finance Team pose with President & CEO Chris Gullo during their employee appreciation event.

Team Finance

Our team members work hard – between various remote working and onsite working arrangements, they’ve managed to build paperless systems for accounts payable, keep up with claims and payments, and work through challenges of our financial system. They did this and more without a full team or CFO for 8 Months. The finance team has accomplished completing an intense Audit while onboarding 2 new hires in the process. Finance restructured its team and has managed to become fully staffed and operational – getting to know one another through various team building activities including 3 rather recent social outings. The ability to cross-train has helped tremendously during an unexpected period of unforeseen absences. Given hurdles along the way, Finance has still managed to meet deadlines for EHR implementation planning on going live 12/1/2021. Throughout the pandemic, everyone stepped up to the plate as we faced loss and provided each other with emotional and professional support. Our teamwork is demonstrated by having (1) obtained $6M funding through Employee Retention Credit (2) Fully forgiven PPP round 1 loan of $3.8M (3) Managed cash deficit during March-May 2021 (4) New banking relationship (5) Mortgage refinance and additional cash investment (6) New Line of Credit at $3.5M based (previous LOC at $2.5M with a lot of reporting and tied to Accounts receivable) (7) Repayment of all debt (8) Issuance of outstanding financial reports and more. Each person on the team has gone above and beyond. Our gratitude is endless for their efforts. We look forward to the upcoming year with many more accomplishments together!!

– Jackie Wambach

Team Information Technology

Our Villa IT Team continues to work diligently at supporting the agency’s technical needs in addition to supporting the agency’s new-hire initiatives from the initial new-hire setup to their onboarding and beyond. In addition to supporting staff, they have also been hard at work behind the scenes doing system upgrades and updates to both hardware and software, managing the deployment of our new email filter and our new mobile device management system (for cell phones and tablets), and preparing for our new Detox program’s technology.

The team’s agility and willingness to be flexible and adaptable are certainly proving to be an incredible asset as the agency continues to grow and change for the better.

I am extremely proud of the team’s accomplishments over the past 14 months, and look forward to more great accomplishments in the near future!

– George Lama

The Finance and IT team hosted a meetup for their new team members in August 2021.

Executive Leadership Team

Christina Gullo, President & CEO
One cannot talk about our President and CEO, Chris Gullo, without using words like “caring,” “genuine,” “courageous,” “accessible,” and “vision-driven.”

It has been her vision that has created what we now call Villa of Hope. What was once an orphanage (St. Joseph’s Villa), serving our area’s children, has been transformed into a mighty force for change: a leader in behavioral health, an agency committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, as well as an agency that addresses our most pressing community issues, serving children, families, and adults. We are today an agency that understands the social determinants of health and looks to better each facet, each day. It is Chris Gullo’s leadership that has done this.

As an originator of our Sanctuary initiative, Chris truly models what our Sanctuary commitments are every day, and it shows through her leadership and regard for those we serve on campus and in the community. She is the kind of leader not afraid to make difficult decisions, and also the kind of leader never too busy to spend an hour with new employees at orientation.

During the pandemic, Chris was a support to the staff who were considered essential workers. They knew they were appreciated and keeping them safe was our number one priority; she made sure of that. Hotel accommodations for staff, fogging, and completely changing up the plan became the norm. She pivoted, she adapted, and she led.

Chris, thank you for always making staff feel heard, for always having your door open, and for bringing hope to those we work with every day! You are truly our Hope for the future.

– Catherine Amico Orlandini and C. Jean Grover

Carrie Carl, Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer
Carrie Carl is always ready and willing to support any member of the Villa staff. She truly and genuinely believes in our Mission, Vision, and Values. She is the perfect spokesperson for all Villa programs…as she is positive, upbeat, and helpful. Carrie’s attention to compliance detail is unmatched. She is Sanctuary-driven and uses the commitments to all that she does as a leader. Carrie is a model of self-accountability and helps to build this in others. I thank her for her leadership.

– Kim Ward

Chetna Chandrakala, Chief Financial Officer
I’ve never met anyone like Chetna. So hard-working, so dedicated, so loyal, and all the while totally composed during challenging times. Her leadership and mentorship are so admired by all of her staff, something not necessarily said but very much felt and seen. She contributes so much to our personal and professional growth and I know with her help, the Villa’s future is growing as well!

– Jackie Wambach

Gerianne Puskas, Chief Advancement Officer
I don’t think I’ve bragged about a boss more than I have about Gerianne. It is evident that she is passionate about the Villa, dedicated to her team, and really talented. She’s an incredible marketer, storyteller, and relationship-builder. Since joining the Villa, she’s transformed the advancement team from scratch to build an effective and valuable department. She grew the impact from a 51% ROI in 2016 to a 624% ROI in 2021. She knows her team and tries her best to tailor the work to their strengths. She’s passionate about growing her staff and committed to professional development for all of us, including herself. She just became one of the only Association of Fundraising Professionals Master Trainers in the state! Her commitment to the community shows up every day in her work, as well as her leadership positions throughout the region. Our team is truly honored to be working with such a great leader. Thank you for all you do for us!

– Jonathan Meagher-Zayas

Michelle Lee, Chief Residential Program and Facilities Operations Officer
Every plane needs a pilot, and I’m grateful you are ours. You have shown me that hard work and a willingness to improve yourself are traits that can get you far in life. Success starts from the top. Your supervision has allowed me to flourish in my position. Thank you for helping me get a good grip on my responsibilities. You have shown me the value of persistence in making sure a job is done well. It is a quality that I hope to master as time goes on. It is a real privilege to have you as my boss. From the very first day, you made me feel welcome. Thank you for all the commitment you show to the team. It makes such a difference to know that you are invested in the success of each person, as well as the whole team. Everyone is different, yet you manage to pull us all together. We will continue to do great things with you leading the way. Thank you for being a great boss.

– De’Von Greene

Lindsay Gozzi-Theobald, Chief Program Officer
Lindsay – Thank you so much for all you do for our department every day! You are a wealth of knowledge, creativity, and encouragement. I appreciate that you trust our decisions and ideas while giving us the support and direction needed. We are very lucky to have such a dedicated and fearless leader!

– Robin Kreitzberg

Lindsay is a servant leader. She is thoughtful, available, flexible, does well with brainstorming solutions, is multi-talented (can develop work plans, budgets, policies, etc. in a short period of time). Lindsay is supportive and is one of the most resourceful people I have met.

– Kimberly Lillie

Wynndy Turner, Chief Human Resources and Diversity Officer
Wynndy, is a great boss, mentor, and manager! Her guidance and advice are always invaluable. We appreciate the time she takes to guide us on all HR/OE and agency matters and projects. Her motivation, kindness, patience, and support are just a few traits that make her the great leader she is!

– April Hill and Christine Staheli