Caris Pregnancy Counseling and Resources Hires Executive Director

Meet Caris Pregnancy Counseling & Resources

Caris is a faith-based nonprofit counseling organization serving any woman facing an unplanned pregnancy, offering open and non-judgmental support regardless of her faith background or decision about her pregnancy. Caris also offers mental health support for those facing parenting challenges or who are wrestling with past or current pregnancy decisions.

Caris aims to show the love of God to each and every person that comes through the door. Caris Pregnancy Counseling & Resources extends grace, compassion, and respect to their clients. Caris does not coerce women into making decisions regarding their pregnancies or any other decision they might face. 

Through licensed and professional counselors (all Caris counselors are master’s-level therapists), Caris helps women and men work through potential barriers, conflicts, triggers, pregnancy, and pregnancy-related decisions. 

Caris provides clients with compassionate support, professional counseling, and tangible resources, thereby empowering them and giving them hope. Statistics have revealed that women who choose abortion cite the lack of emotional support and the lack of practical resources as their top reasons for making this decision. Additionally, through robust mental health support (specifically concerning pregnancy-involved issues), women, men, and couples can receive counseling that will equip them to be better parents and co-parenting adults while also giving them the skills to be a healthier and more whole version of themselves. Through their

Conception to Age 5 Program (C25), Caris provides the extra support that women and families need during the first five years of a child’s life. These services provide support and resources to women, children, and families. They include life skills workshops for new parents, early childhood services and support for children, baby supplies, clothing, and equipment.

Caris also offers clients a connection to Christian communities of faith where additional resources and emotional support are available.

Opportunity

Caris was searching for an Executive Director to set a vision and culture for the organization. This person would be entrusted with overseeing all operations at Caris, including the annual budget, as well as functioning as the head and voice of the nonprofit. Caris needed a key strategic leader to develop their staff and work alongside the Board of Directors to set visionary goals and plans. Once placed, this person would be trusted as the public spokesperson of Caris.

The ideal candidate would exemplify a committed and consistent dependence on Jesus. This person would live out a calling to ministry through the mission and vision Caris upholds. This person would need to be externally focused yet internally connected, flexible and decisive, and independently passionate while collaborating with the team.

With these needs in mind, Caris reached out to Vanderbloemen to find the right person they would trust to lead their organization. 

Our consultant Chantel McHenry got to know the Charis team and what they needed. She listened to the Board of Directors, Search Committee, and other key staff members who could speak to what kind of person would lead their team well and fit into their staff culture – someone who would join in the team’s efforts to consistently pray for discernment and thoughtfully consider what is best for Caris’s team and ministry.

Solution

After conducting a thorough search, Gina Valentine stood out among the qualified candidates as one whom Caris would confidently hire as their Executive Director.

Gina comes with 25 years of experience in advertising, consulting, and nonprofits. Her expertise aligns perfectly with Caris’s needs. Her ability as a skilled negotiator, budget planner, and decisive leader equipped her to spearhead Caris’s operations. She is known as a productive worker and skilled leader, making her a dependable partner for the Board of Directors. Her experience managing teams and operations has prepared her to juggle all the responsibilities required of an Executive Director.

Gina melded into Caris’s team culture seamlessly. Her team-player attitude and adaptability fit the team’s vision for who they would want to work alongside and be led by. Her strengths in speaking, problem-solving, and project management will help the team to welcome her influence.

Result

Already a Chicago resident, Gina began a smooth transition into the Executive Director role at Caris. She has taken on the vision and purpose at Caris as her own, pursuing a standard of excellence for the team at Caris and the community they serve.

Benefit

The benefit of hiring Vanderbloemen is that we have the search capabilities to find the ideal fit for your organization, whether the right person is already working for you or is living halfway across the globe. We can provide an extensive reach and a full-staff approach for organizations that otherwise would be limited to their local networks and would need to sacrifice other responsibilities to invest in a quality search. We are able to bring schools and organizations executive position candidates they could not find on their own.

If you’re ready to start the conversation around hiring, contact our team. We’ll guide you through the hiring process at every level, from job descriptions to signing the offer letter.