Catholic Charities Welcomes Lisa Christian
Lisa Christian, Chief Program & Strategy Officer
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County welcomes Lisa Christian as the new Chief Program and Strategy Officer. She joined the organization’s senior management team in August, Employee bringing more than 25 years of professional and nonprofit leadership experience to her role. In this newly created position, Lisa will direct the “big picture vision” and strategic oversight for Catholic Charities’ anti-poverty and racial justice strategies. She will oversee management of all teams, programs and services within the agency’s $39 million operations at 90+ sites in Santa Clara County. “We believe Lisa will be a great asset in implementing our vision for the future as we continue to meet the emerging needs in our community,” Greg Kepferle, CEO of Catholic Charities, said. “In addition to her extensive background in nonprofit leadership, she is an ideal fit for the position due to her reputation as a relationship-builder who engages a wide array of partners, staff and volunteers with energy and enthusiasm.” Lisa’s most recent position was Chief Development Officer for the Community Housing Partnership in San Francisco. Her career highlights include 20 years working in operations and management for YMCA organizations in four U.S. cities, including as President/CEO of the YMCA in Middletown, New Jersey. She also served as the Executive Director of Aquamaids, the internationally known nonprofit bringing youth development /synchronized swimming programming to the South Bay region. Since 2011, Lisa has consulted with a wide range of nonprofit organizations—including serving in interim C-suite roles— providing them with expertise and leadership in strategic planning, and workforce and organizational development.
She also coached teams to build impact and drive organizational results and outcomes. At Catholic Charities, a key role in her new position will be to assess program design and lead an organizational design process to more effectively integrate services based on client needs. This includes transforming effective but siloed services into integrated services, and delivering systems that integrate service quality, funding streams, reimbursement, compliance, analysis and client self-service capabilities, and producing data that can be analyzed and used to inform advocacy and policy positions. “The new vision of Catholic Charities speaks strongly to me as I have spent my career as a cause-driven leader focused on helping everyone to be the best they can be, serving great nonprofits and living their mission every day,” Lisa said. “I look forward to showcasing the passion that the Catholic Charities’ team and volunteers bring to the programs and families they serve every day. With this new direction, Catholic Charities is poised to build on their already successful programs and services to have a greater impact on intergenerational poverty and the growing number of families struggling everyday across Santa Clara County.” Lisa holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Shepherd University, and is a 14-year Rotarian, serving as an Officer, Committee Member and Speaker. As part of the Schwab Executive Leadership Program, Lisa is an Organizational Leader and Senior Director.
Voices of Hope is the Official Newsletter/blog of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County