CHMRC Community Network
When I stepped into the role of CEO at CHMRC, I quickly realized this wasn’t going to be a “steady state” leadership role. It was, and continues to be, a turnaround, a reset, and a reimagining all at once.
Our organization sits at the intersection of public health, community resilience, and nonprofit capacity-building. That’s both an opportunity and a weighty responsibility. We aren’t here to duplicate what other nonprofits already do well. We’re here to connect the dots, to make sure community organizations, health systems, and public health aren’t working in silos when it comes to the wellbeing of our communities.
For me, being a CEO in this space means:
- Right-sizing, not over-growing. Nonprofits often feel pressure to scale quickly or add programs to chase funding. My job has been to make sure CHMRC is the right size, with the right people, doing the right work. Sustainability matters more than the bigness.
- Turning burden into value. A big part of our work is public health reporting. For many organizations, data reporting feels like a compliance burden. We are working to flip that script while we help our partners to streamline and cut costs. Future state, we aim to help partners use that same data to strengthen their impact and demonstrate value to funders.
- Coalition over competition. Community-based organizations are stretched thin, and in competition for the same dollars. Through hubs like our work in Solano and Clarkston, and the new CHMRC Community Network, we’ve helped to build spaces where collaboration replaces competition. The result is stronger collective capacity. It’s something no single nonprofit could achieve alone.
- Balancing urgency and patience. Nonprofits carry the burden to address needs from the communities they serve, but systems change is slow. Living in that tension is part of the role. It’s also part of why it’s so important to keep partners aligned and motivated over the long term.
To my fellow nonprofit leaders: I know the work often feels like balancing a budget on one hand and holding your community’s trust in the other. What I’ve learned is that you don’t have to do it alone. Building coalitions, investing in trusted partnerships, and creating networks of shared capacity is a promising way forward.
In my work, Ieadership is less about being the loudest voice in the room and more about being the connector, convener, and stabilizer. That’s what I see as my role at CHMRC, and it’s why I believe nonprofits can, and must, reimagine how we work together to build healthier, more resillient communities.
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