Sherry Thomas-Cloud, head of Kalamazoo's Douglass Community Association,is the new chief executive officer of the area Family & Children Services, the regional human services organization announced today. Her first day is Oct. 3. She takes over from Rosemary Gardiner, who is retiring after 44 years with the agency, the last eight in the top spot.
Thomas-Cloud, a licensed master social worker, headed the Douglass Community Association, a nonprofit outreach center serving youth, adults and families, since 2013. She was previously director of Kalamazoo County Department of Human Services.
“Her career in health and human services is exemplary and she embodies the traits our customers have grown to expect," said Family & Children Services Board President Mac Waldorf in a prepared statement. "As a former DHS leader and as executive director of the Douglas Community Association, Sherry has seen both sides of the nonprofit world and will work diligently to bridge the gap between required services of our community and access to much needed funding sources.”
According to a news release, Thomas-Cloud is coming on-board as the agency prepares to open a newly constructed family center and renovated centers for youth activity, counseling and central reception, funded through a $5.6 million capital campaign.
The services will be housed at the agency’s Kalamazoo location on Lake Street in the Edison neighborhood. A grand opening is planned this year.
With offices in Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Portage, the agency provides behavioral health and child welfare programs and services to the residents of Allegan, Barry, Branch, Berrien, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties, says its website.
In a statement, Thomas-Cloud said she was "honored and eager" about her new position at Family & Children Services. She said the agency's mission "to meet the needs of struggling families and individuals of all ages" helps make the region "a better place in which to live and work."
"I look forward to helping continue that legacy,” Thomas-Cloud said.
While at the Douglass Community Association, she helped raise more than $3 million in funds and in-kind community support, according to a news release. The center had been facing dwindling financial support prior to her arrival that almost led to its closure. Thomas-Cloud also assisted in the start of programs to address employment, parent engagement and education, youth recreation, leadership, food insecurity and health.
In addition to her human-services work, Thomas-Cloud is a part-time faculty member in the Western Michigan University School of Social Work and Interdisciplinary Health Services, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in social work administration, race and culture, leadership and advocacy, groups and organizations, and health care administration.