Age: 37Company: Community Child Guidance Clinic Inc. of ManchesterTitle: Executive DirectorTown where I live: West HartfordTown where I work: ManchesterCollege: Providence College, Hofstra University, UConnFun FactI had three boys in under two-and-a-half years and none of them are multiples.Q&A:What do you do in your current job? I am the executive director of the Community Child […]
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Age: 37
Company: Community Child Guidance Clinic Inc. of Manchester
Title: Executive Director
Town where I live: West Hartford
Town where I work: Manchester
College: Providence College, Hofstra University, UConn
Fun Fact
I had three boys in under two-and-a-half years and none of them are multiples.
Q&A:
What do you do in your current job? I am the executive director of the Community Child Guidance Clinic Inc. in Manchester. I oversee an outpatient behavioral health clinic, an intensive outpatient program, an intensive in-home child and adolescent psychiatric services (IICAPS) program, and a licensed, accredited special education school for children in grades K-8.
What are your goals in your current job? To inspire and lead a team of highly skilled, passionate professionals working in the nonprofit sector to improve the lives of the chronically underserved children and families in Connecticut. To help end the stigma around mental illness and educate people about the benefit of mental health and special education services.
What's your biggest passion? Fighting for those who have historically not had anyone to advocate for their needs regarding mental health and special education. Help legislators understand the dire need for attention to these issues. Help members of the community understand what we do and why we need to continue to fight for these services. Teach my children, through example, that everyone needs an advocate and we all deserve the same access to these services.
What are your future professional aspirations? To become more involved in advocacy for the clients and families we serve. To continue my lifelong journey of education, both of myself and of the communities in Connecticut. To inspire the dedicated people I work with to continue fighting for our clients. To make the passion contagious and reinforce the message that one person really can make a difference.
How are you involved in the community? I am involved in the schools my sons attend, through committee and volunteer work. I am involved in my local parish, helping those less fortunate. I am involved by serving on professional taskforces and special committees related to various areas of interest. Our agency is a member of the chamber of commerce.
If you were governor of Connecticut for a day what is one policy you'd push to improve the state's future? I would continue to advocate for the privatization of state social service programs such as secure facilities for juvenile offenders and nonsecure residential facilities for adolescents. This would make an immense positive impact on the state budget, because historically, private nonprofits can run these programs at a fraction of the cost. It would also positively impact private nonprofits, which would receive more funding and be able to expand the services they provide to their communities.
List four reasons why you deserve to be a 40 Under Forty: Only the third selected executive director and first female executive director in the history of the CCGC. As COO, in conjunction with the president and CEO, successfully transitioned another nonprofit in Connecticut from serving adjudicated youth to serving youth with spectrum diagnoses and their families. Been an invited presenter at multiple international conferences and have presented in Greece, Italy and several sites across the country related to my Ph.D. dissertation research. I am a published author in an academic textbook in the field of marriage and family therapy.
