Contact: Nicholle Granger
ngranger@voaches.org
August 9, 2022 Newport News, VA
Volunteers of America Chesapeake & Carolinas is proud to announce that Candace Vanderwater has assumed an increased leadership role with the organization. She will be taking on the role of Executive Vice President, adding to her current title of Chief Operating Officer.
“In the Executive Vice President & COO role, Candace will expand her areas of responsibilities to lead external affairs, ministry outreach, new business development and more business oversight.”
– Russ Synder, President & CEO
Candace is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has been in the field of health and human services for almost 30 years. Candace has been with VOACC since February 2011 in various roles including Director of IDD Services in Northern Virginia; Vice President of Strategy & Organizational Development; and Chief Operating Officer. Candace serves on the Board of Representatives for the American Network for Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), representing Virginia, a national advocacy organization for people with intellectual and development disabilities.
Candace has successfully led the development of our organization over the past 11 ½ years with key achievements. She reorganized program operations from a service line orientation to a regional structure in 2015 and expanded our executive leadership team by adding regional Director of Operations roles shortly following. Candace launched the Organizational Excellence support unit in 2016 and assumed oversight of Human Resources, Administration and Information Systems in 2018. Internal system improvements such as electronic health records, key performance indicator tracking, human resources team structuring and a human capital management system/training platform have been implemented to support operations. Candace introduced our internal strategic planning process, now known as Dynamic Strategies, which as driven significant change and growth across the organization. Under her leadership, the organization has significantly grown it’s clinical, credentialed staff and have implemented over 100 evidenced based practices. CARF and ACA accreditations expanded and renewed to encompass almost 100% of the organization and our affiliate earned the Evergreen Charter status through our VOA National Office in 2021, the highest possible standing. VOACC was awarded its first SAMHSA award in 2018 and then subsequently awarded several more. She and her team led the onboarding of key DOL program contracts, integrated behavioral health services and a launched successful medical respite program partnering with MCOs in DC. Candace was instrumental in the successful transition of the VOA Carolinas’ programs and services into the Chesapeake affiliate, that officially merged in July 2019.
Candace has achieved personal goals in addition to the organizational impact already outlined. In 2019, she was commissioned as a minister in Volunteers of America ministry of service. In 2021, she successfully completed a second master’s degree, a Master’s in Non-Profit Administration, through The University of Notre Dame’s Executive Masters of Nonprofit Administration (EMNA) Program.
Candace has a passion for organizational development and leadership. She earned a Nonprofit Certificate of Education through a Nonprofit Leadership Program from The University of Notre Dame/Volunteers of America in 2016. Candace is a 2018 alumni of The Leadership Center for Excellence’s Regional Leadership Program in Arlington, Virginia. She is a certified practitioner for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior (FIRO-B and FIRO-Business) instruments and a Crucial Conversations certified trainer. She works closely with the VOA National Office as the Chair of the KeyMakers Alumni Committee and has organized and implemented the internal KeyMakers program for our affiliate. She has trained hundreds of our team members and is often called upon by other VOA affiliates and our VOA National office to present on leadership topics.
“Her contributions over the years have been exemplary and have led to the successful improvement in the quality and delivery of our client services, programs and financial sustainability.”
– Russ Snyder
Candace will continue to have executive oversight of our human resources and administration, program operations and clinical services to further drive our VISION 2025 Strategic Plan, working with our VP of Human Resources, George Lino as well as our newest positions Senior VP of Clinical Strategy, Dr. Sheryl Neverson, and Senior VP of Operations, Tiana Joyner.
“I am incredibly blessed to work with such a wonderful team and to be a part of the impact we have on our neighbors’ lives and in our communities. I look forward to how we can continue to serve more people, serve them better and have an even greater impact.”
– Candace Vanderwater