New year, new things at Alia!

Over the past 18 months, Team Alia has been methodically analyzing our learnings from our first eight years in operation and are using those insights to take things to the next-level, which has allowed us to produce our best outcomes yet!

We have next-leveled our systems transformation, building systems that reduce youth in placement by more than 70%. We have next-leveled our workforce wellbeing offerings to move from self-care and survival to thriving and belonging, infusing technology to help map belonging in organizations. We have next-leveled our Intensive Permanence Services, moving from youth healing and permanency to youth and family healing and belonging. Most importantly, we have launched a bold new strategic plan to build a Proof of Concept that children can live safely with their families when parents are supported earlier, in ways meaningful to them, and by people who don’t have the authority to take their children.

This bold vision is about creating co-designed solutions and community-led networks of support that build the community conditions for children and families to live safely together. To support this new phase of our organization, our most recent Board of Directors came to a decision to make way for a new group of board members to lead us into a brave new future of transformation in child welfare systems.

We have hearts overflowing with gratitude for the outgoing members of the Alia Board of Directors who guided us through these globally turbulent times, and all our former board members who led us to where we are today. They supported us through a global pandemic, conversion to digital services, a racial uprising, and the years-long transition from a start-up organization to one which has quadrupled in staff capacity and is actively engaged in more than 30 projects with system partners annually, as we work to keep children safely with, not from, their families. We’d especially like to recognize our board members who served multiple terms: Corey Best (6+ years), Mandy Ellerton (6+ years), DaWayne Judd (5+ years), Ashley McCullough Tough (7+ years), Indra Trujillo (4+ years), and Rachel Zahn (8+ years).

In our next phase of development, our new members, Frank Altman (Chair), Vivian Chow, Karina Forrest Perkins, and Dominick Washington, will spend this year evaluating what next-level skills and experience will be needed to lead Alia into a new future. We are thrilled to have these impressive and dedicated professionals supporting our team. They bring a breadth of experience and expertise that will influence the pillars of our strategic plan and guide us towards achieving our mission.

We are so proud of the progress we have made in the first phase of our development, and we have never been more optimistic about the potential to realize our vision of all children thriving within their families and communities. We look to this new year with an abundance of excitement for what’s possible as we work together to build a new way!

Read more about our newest members of the Alia Board of Directors