Better Together. Rarely has an organization’s tagline so succinctly and accurately captured the ethos, the offerings, and the people it represents.
COAE was founded as an organization that would help nonprofit executives to “lead with excellence,” and for our first two decades, that was largely our work. Membership continually grew, and nonprofit leaders - including yours truly - found community and support from our peers. We each realized we weren't alone in our leadership challenges, and that by learning from - and sharing with - each other, we could improve our organizations and our community.
More recently - and not just since the pandemic - the needs facing our communities have gotten more complex. Nonprofits have stepped up, as they always have, to meet communities where they are, and help them move towards where they want to be. But it has come at a cost. At the same time the work of nonprofit organizations has gotten more complex, so have the challenges facing leaders. Financial pressures, staffing shortages and societal changes have caused every leader to reevaluate what they thought they knew about their work, about their leadership, and about collaboration.
And as much as we would like it not to be so, these challenges don’t seem to be fading. Recent progress in creating a more equitable society is being challenged and pushed back against. Staffing challenges are proving to be a sign of historic shifts, not brief storms to be weathered. Polarization and division feel like they permeate our thoughts and our work more and more regularly. But when we are needed most is also when we can be at our best. Just as those we serve need us more now than ever, we in the helping sector need each other more now, than ever.
Which brings me back to COAE. Our members collectively represent our community’s force for good, for justice, for equity and for a better future for all. We also represent nearly $1B in annual economic impact - much of it brought into our community from outside - and more than 25,000 staff, and many more volunteers, donors, and supporters. COAE’s members serve not just as a collection of resources, but in many ways as our community’s safety net, and we come together through this organization to ensure that the safety net is strong. That it is better together.
Lastly, I would like to thank our members for the multitude of ways YOU are working, every day, to make this region a better place for all of us!
Todd Butler
Council of Agency Executives President
President & CEO Causewave Community Partners
Presidents through the years with their organization at the time of their service:
2020 – 2023 Karen Zandi, Mary Cariola
2018 – 2020 Donna Dedee, Holy Childhood and Special Touch Bakery
2015 – 2018 Greg Soehner, East House
2012 – 2015 Ann Marie Cook, Lifespan
2010 – 2012 Bill McDonald, Medical Motor Service
2008 – 2010 Colin Garwood, LDA Life & Learning Services
2006 – 2008 Germaine Knapp, Sojourner House
2004 – 2006 Carolyn Portanova, Catholic Family Center
2002 – 2004 Jean Carroll, YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County
2000 – 2002 Alan Harris, Legal Aid Society of Rochester
1999 – 2000 Jim Sorrentino, East House