July Executive Director Message

It is a true pleasure and honor to be greeting you as the new Interim Executive Director of FACT.

Of course first off I want to acknowledge Linda Andron for her fierce determination and dedication to FACT and to the wide diversity of clients and families it serves. We held a thank you dinner for her at the end of June and the outpouring of thanks and praise from current and former staff, clients, colleagues and families was remarkable.  Her over two decades of service to our community is outstanding and she has laid a great foundation for a thriving and relevant organization. I value her wise counsel and unparalleled experience as I continue to depend on her services going forward, in her role as Director of Programs and Services.

FACT continues to serve clients where they are and with what they need. We are “on the ground” and hear firsthand what clients are facing in terms of access to services, institutional hurdles, governmental foot-dragging and other challenges to seeking and receiving all the support they need and deserve.

The concept of a trained interim executive is fairly new for nonprofits, but it means that someone is simultaneously charged with running the agency and undertaking all the decision making and management tasks of the chief executive, while at the same time working to get the agency ready for a new permanent full-time executive who can have maximum chance of success.  We expect that the search for a permanent ED will start in fall; the search will be given the time it needs to yield the perfect new leader to take the organization into the future.

I want to thank the senior staff for their dedication to FACT and for their hard work and resilience through the many recent changes. Linda will continue to oversee all programs and have direct responsibility for managing the GAP program. Rachel Orlick-Bloom, who is known to many of you, as Director of Behavioral Health will be at the helm of our school district and behavioral and clinical services.  Julian van Leuven continues with us as our Director of Operations, built on her 15 years of service to FACT responsible for ensuring that we are operating at the highest standards and business best practice.

I want to thank two hard working and dedicated members of the FACT senior team who are moving on to other positions. Eric Kastan has been our Director of Behavioral Services for many years and has grown the program to record levels of quantity and quality. Ashley Greathead has served passionately in direct service and most recently as Director of Development and Communications; her skills have supported a professional and enticing visual image that attracts support.

As FACT continues to evolve and to focus on success and succession, we are clearly taking a lead position in light of state and federal trends. We will continue to be “a family’s voice” in the new movements toward self-determination, inclusion and a focus on gainful employment for our clients.

We appreciate all your support and look forward to your continuing with us on this journey.