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Search Success! Emma Concepcion Joins UTEC as Chief People Officer

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UTEC and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are excited to announce that, following an extensive and competitive candidate search, Emma Concepcion has joined UTEC as their new Chief People Officer.

Reporting to UTEC’s CEO, Emma will be responsible for leading UTEC’s people and talent strategies, managing and mitigating organizational risks, and continuing the development of their human resource-related strategies, policies, and procedures. She will be a strategic advisor to senior leadership on a variety of issues, including employee relations, leadership development, organizational culture, and talent management, and will be play a key leadership role in supporting UTEC’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all areas of management and embodying UTEC’s DEI vision in their work and workplace culture.

Emma joins UTEC from Bay Cove Human Services, where she was their Vice President of Human Resources and earlier was the organization’s Director of Human Resources. As a member of the Bay Cove leadership team, she established the workforce development team, was Co-Chair of the DEI committee, designed and implemented HR initiatives, enhanced staff retention and engagement, and aligned HR strategies with organizational objectives. While Emma was Bay Cove’s Vice President of Human Resources, the organization achieved recognition as one of Boston’s Top Places to Work for five consecutive years. Prior to her tenure in Human Resources at Bay Cove, Emma spent a decade as their Director of Housing. In addition to her human resources and human services expertise, Emma also has extensive mediation experience, as she spent several years participating in court mediation and mediation training as a member of the Harvard University Mediation Program, handling cases related to civil, housing, and harassment prevention orders.

About UTEC: UTEC is a nationally recognized program for justice-involved young adults. The program starts behind the walls of correctional facilities and intensive street outreach/gang peacemaking and transitions into an intensive program in the community post-release. The nature of their educational services, wraparound supports and counseling, social enterprise/workforce development, organizing/policy work, training institute, and innovative partnerships creates a variety of impacts in the lives of the individuals and communities they serve.

Last year, UTEC served over 600 young adults including a range of outreach activities, and approximately 150 young adults intensively through their comprehensive program. During this fiscal year, 75% of young adults at UTEC avoided arrest. With over 20 years of experience, UTEC is a catalyst, innovating in the way they serve young adults (ages 17-25) who are criminally and/or gang involved in Massachusetts’ Merrimack Valley. Learn more about UTEC at https://utecinc.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

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Search Success: Sher Omerovic Named JVS’ New Chief Program Officer!

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JVS Boston and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are proud to announce, following an extensive and competitive candidate search, the appointment of Sher Omerovic to the position of Chief Program Officer.

This is a well-deserved promotion from Sher’s most recent role with JVS as Senior Vice President of Programs. Sher joined JVS in 2016.

Reporting to JVS’ CEO, Kira Khazatsky, Sher will lead the core of JVS’ work – the development, quality, and delivery of JVS’s services. Sher will provide strategic leadership to the programmatic Vice President team to ensure alignment with the organization’s mission and goals, and support and develop the programmatic VP team to achieve programmatic outcomes. She will collaborate with other principal executives to ensure long-term strategic planning and board management align with the organization’s mission and goals.

Sher brings extensive program, workforce development and leadership experience to the Chief Program Officer role. Prior to JVS, she worked at the Fish Family Foundation, where she developed and implemented a statewide citizenship initiative partnering with multiple community organizations, immigration attorneys, and volunteers to organize large-scale citizenship events across the commonwealth, and held roles in immigration and employment with Catholic Charities of Boston and in grants with United Way. Sher earned her master’s degree in nonprofit project management from Northeastern University and her bachelor’s degree in international relations and modern languages from Beloit College.

About JVS Boston: For 80 years, JVS has helped tens of thousands of individuals with barriers to economic success secure financial independence through training, education, and employment services.  As the largest provider of adult education and workforce development services in the region, JVS is a nationally recognized leader in workforce development, and is a key part of the poverty alleviation strategy for the greater-Boston area.  In order to reach people in need of assistance on their pathway to meaningful employment and financial independence, JVS targets most of its services to low-income individuals who are unemployed or underemployed and to low-wage workers in need of career advancement services.  Many have multiple support needs ranging from limited English proficiency and lack of education to disabilities, criminal records, lack of childcare and transportation.  JVS operates on annual budget of more than $15 million, of which is derived equally from public and private sources. For more information, please visit www.jvs-boston.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

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Search Success: Griet Dehandschutter Joins Treehouse Foundation as Director of Development!

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Treehouse Foundation and Pillar Search are thrilled to announce the appointment of Griet Dehandschutter to the position of Director of Development.

As the Director of Development, Griet will be a key member of the Treehouse Leadership Team, overseeing the organization’s fundraising and expanding its community of support across Massachusetts and nationwide. Griet will be responsible for setting fundraising strategy, managing the fundraising team, growing Treehouse’s resources by deepening engagement with individuals, corporations and foundations and raising the organization’s visibility in support of its big and bold vision. She will report to Treehouse Foundation’s Founder and Executive Director Judy Cockerton.

Most recently, Griet was the Executive Director of Acton-Boxborough United Way where she doubled the revenue in two years and engaged multi-stakeholder coalitions to address vital community needs. Prior to that, Griet was an international fundraising consultant, where she pioneered innovative and sustainable international major giving, corporate and foundation giving strategies with large and small nonprofits, museums, and universities across 15 countries and 4 continents. Earlier in her career, as East Coast Director for Flanders Investment and Trade, Griet partnered with Fortune 500 executives to locate their pan-European business operations in Belgium. Griet also co-founded the European-American Chamber of Commerce in the United States, today known as the Transatlantic Business Council (TABC).

Griet earned her Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and her Master of Law from Belgium’s University of Antwerp.

In addition, Griet has served on several boards, including the American Fund for Charities, SilverAqua, and iScale. As a volunteer, Griet co-chaired the Capital Campaign for the United Church of Christ in Boxborough, MA.

About the Treehouse Foundation: The Treehouse Foundation is an award-winning Massachusetts-based nonprofit that is working diligently to inspire a Re-Envisioning of Foster Care in America.

Since its launch in 2002, Treehouse has been investing in foster care, vital aging, and affordable housing innovation. Its mission: To inspire, implement, and support innovative child welfare practices that ensure our children who experience foster care find permanent families and supportive communities, allowing them to develop, heal and thrive. Its vision: Every child rooted in family and community. 

Nationally recognized social entrepreneur, Judy Cockerton, has provided her visionary leadership to the Treehouse Foundation since its inception. Cockerton, known as a highly collaborative leader, developed the award-winning intergenerational Treehouse Community model and leads the Re-Envisioning Foster Care in America (REFCA) movement. In 2006, the first intergenerational Treehouse Community opened in western Massachusetts, where the largest percentage of children and youth experiencing foster care in the Commonwealth reside. The Treehouse Foundation partnered with Beacon Communities LLC to design, build and operate the first Treehouse Community in Easthampton, MA. Treehouse is now partnering with 2Life Communities to bring the successful intergenerational Treehouse Community model to the site of the former Boston State Hospital in Mattapan.

On November 3-4, the Treehouse Foundation will host its 9th national Re-Envisioning Foster Care in America (REFCA) conference in Boston. REFCA2023 will feature the wisdom, award winning ideas, and lived expertise of REFCA Champions – stellar changemakers who are using their firsthand experience and professional acumen to create new visions for child welfare.

To learn more about this visionary organization, please visit https://www.treehousefoundation.net.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information about Pillar, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.