A Note from our CEO
This summer, as Centers celebrated its 50th year dedicated to advancing the quality of life within South Side neighborhoods, I was appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer. After eight years of working hand and hand with my amazing colleagues, I am now sitting in the leadership seat responsible for serving thousands of people in the community I call home.
My first 100 days have been so rewarding, challenging and inspiring that it is hard to put into words. That being said, what has been reaffirmed during this time is that people are the center of our organization. The people we serve, the people who serve and the people that support us are integral to creating an impact in our community.
Like all human service organizations, Centers is emerging from a turbulent environment. Social unrest shifts in the labor force, and economic downturn continue to affect our communities deeply and disproportionately, including both our clients and our staff.
In this environment, we must prioritize the best use of our resources by:
Focusing on the programs most needed in our communities,
Promoting excellence in our systems and service delivery,
Stabilizing our workforce and investing in our teams, and
Implementing a facilities plan aligned with our needs.
What will success look like?
Centers will continue to be highly regarded for our effective & transformational programs.
Centers will train, support, and fairly compensate our teams to pursue excellence in their work.
Centers will increase investments in effective systems and transform our facilities to reflect our pride in our work, our clients, our staff and our communities.
To deliver on this vision will require Centers to set priorities to focus on our most needed programs, re-evaluate our real estate portfolio, implement new management systems, and support our teams to achieve operational excellence with measurable impact.
This vision requires us to work hand-in-glove to continue our powerful course in line with our storied history in Bronzeville and across the South Side, drawing on the wisdom, experience, and passion for our mission of our staff, board, and supporters.
