“Set a goal and achieve it!”

Debra Greenwood, CEO/President, The Center for Family Justice, Inc., located in Bridgeport, CT, is a seasoned non-profit executive with over 35 years of experience leading organizations. She has a demonstrated track record of effective program development, community participation, fundraising and Strategic planning to lead and work with diverse communities.

As Debra suggests, a small group appreciation for donors and community partners is great, but always give public appreciation to community partners and individuals. This validates your organization's partners, funders, and supporters. Be a thoughtful and visionary leader who is approachable to groups, leaders, and individuals. For a CEO in the family justice arena, it is critical to take care of people affected by domestic violence, sexual violence, and child abuse. In order to maintain the growth of the organization and sustainable revenues, you must be well-spoken and assertive in "storytelling" and public communication. With such a large board and staff, criticism is also inescapable; thus, be ready to respond and explain. I've developed layers of thick skin over the years. I have learned from mistakes, sometimes failures, and grew from these.

To succeed within the organization you lead, with 40 years’ experience in the non-profit sector, a proven track record of accomplishments validates your credibility. Thoughtful strategic planning to address and express your organization's mission of where it's been, where it is, and where it's going is important for continued stability, says Debra.

She continues, "I have been coaching and mentoring people for over 20 years at all levels. It has been my passion and I am fortunate to get support from both corporate and experienced NPO leaders to form collaborative solutions for individuals looking to explore the Non-Profit Sector. As a leader, I've learned to collaborate, cooperate, and establish an environment which listens to the team and is open to suggestions, ideas, and creativity." Always encourage volunteers and keep them strategically focused on success. “Constantly ask yourself, "Why are we here? Why are we doing this? Are we better than yesterday? How can we improve?"

With the VOICES group for survivors and support programs for clients, we’ve started a Culture of Hope for our staff, incorporating self-care and FUN into the workplace. In addition, we have the Pre-Covid Wellness Studio offerings; one can take a breather, meditate, do yoga, go for a walk, or use workout equipment throughout your daily routine. Supporting working parents with children and families during special presentations at school that require family attendance can be accommodated. We have a trauma-informed and supportive atmosphere as well. Our software is consistently being upgraded to produce data and statistical information on our clients' programs. We have implemented facility safeguards to keep clients and staff safe. We are adding to our senior team, a Director of Mission Impact and Strategies to measure our impact on our services and programs we serve, says Debra.

In 2007, I worked as a faculty advisor for a number of YMCAs, including the YMCA of the USA. After being asked questions about summer camps, aquatic centers, fitness centers, and after-school programs, I asked these types of questions when starting the first strategic plan here at CFJ. We uncovered the Family Justice Center model, which began in 2002 in San Diego, California, and was reproduced in 22 other states with federal funds. Thanks to our strategic planning collaboration with Harvard, this identified what best practices looked like in serving victims of abuse. We worked hard to change our 126-year-old agency into Connecticut's first "one-stop-shop," where a victim can avail services to become a sustainable survivor including their children, adds Debra.

We were also awarded one of 16 sanctioned sites in the United States in April of 2016 to replicate the ONLY program for working with youth aged 7 to 17 who were affected by trauma caused by domestic violence and sexual violence. We guided other domestic and sexual violence agencies in the State of Connecticut to start their own Family Justice Center and Camp HOPE America program. The Bridgeport Camp HOPE America program has attracted funders' attention which has allowed us to hire staff to help identify ways to stop the intergenerational cycle of abuse. We're getting ready to transform into a more comprehensive Safehouse for abuse survivors at the end of the year, which will also include a Safe Kennel for victims who won't leave their pets behind. We have also finished a 3-year strategic plan post pandemic to meet our client’s needs.

As part of our ongoing needs assessment, we will look at continuing to check the client’s needs, expansion of youth services for children that have experienced trauma from abuse that are not being met, and how to better serve our disabled population. We look at engagement and peer mentoring opportunities at the Family Justice Center. Many people after the crisis have taken our self-sufficiency workshops to find jobs and move forward with housing and education. So, they, the clients, can become self-sufficient survivors. We've supported their dreams and many of our client’s now believe in themselves and are on their way to happy and productive lives, concludes Debra.