Rita Callens, MPA

Experience

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  New Medico Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center

  Jan 1985 - Jan 1990

  Board Certified Music Therapist

  Provided clinical music therapy services to individuals with brain injury as part of an interdisciplinary team.

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  Arc of Cortland County

  Jan 1990 - Jan 1991

  Director, Residential Services (nonprofit)

  Responsible for providing a variety of residential living options for 50 adults with developmental disabilities. Supervised a staff of 50 including clinical and direct care.

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  Rochester Rehabilitation Center

  Jan 1991 - Jan 1994

  Program Manager, Community Reintegration Program (nonprofit)

  Managed a Rehabilitation Services Act Grant funding vocational program for 20 adults with Traumatic Brain Injury.

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  Lifetime Assistance, Incorporated

  Jan 1994 - Jan 1998

  Clinical Coordinator (nonprofit)

  Ensured effective programming and regulatory compliance for a day treatment program serving 120 adults and seniors with moderate and severe developmental disabilities.

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  The Arc of Orleans County

  Jan 1998 - Aug 2003

  Director, Vocational Services (nonprofit)

  Directed community based vocational services including supported employment, sheltered employment, enclaves, auto detailing and a volunteer day program for 120 adults with various disabilities. Leader of the Quality team for Finger Lakes Collaborative, co-author of the Framework for Quality.Authored and implemented a funded $60,000 grant to assist consumers in obtaining leadership opportunities in the community..

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  The Jewish Home

  Aug 2003 - Sept 2004

  Director, Adult Day Services (nonprofit)

  Operated a medical model senior day care for fifty seniors, supervised staff, ensured regulatory compliance, recruited referrals, developed and executed marketing strategies.Redesigned physical space, meal schedule and staff duties to maximize therapeutic benefit to seniors in the program.Built relationships between other departments as part of an internal marketing campaign to raise profile of the program.

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  The Epilepsy Foundation

  Jan 2005 - May 2006

  Director, Quality Services (nonprofit)

  Assured that all programs met New York State regulatory requirements, coordinated staff training, grant reporting, oversaw incident investigation and Board committee review.Established first quality plan for agency serving 300 children and adults with epilepsy, developmental disabilities and brain injury. Educated personnel and board on regulatory environment.Authored a funded $40,000 grant for enhancing skills of the direct care staff in community inclusion. Participated in private/public partnership project with Kodak and Xerox loaned executives, learning principles of Lean Six Sigma while improving agency’s grant reporting process. Show less

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  Mended Hearts

  Jun 2006 - Mar 2009

  Field Services Director (nonprofit)

  Mended Hearts provides hope and encouragement to heart patients. I led and coordinated a nationwide support network of 18,000 heart patient and caregiver volunteers across 270 chapters. To support their efforts, I increased resources through new web tools, developed training manuals and conducted training conference calls, as well as coordinated and presented national and regional convention workshops.In the advocacy area, I participated in national and state grassroots advocacy with legislators and supported Mended Hearts members in their advocacy efforts. Working with pharmaceutical and medical device companies, I participated in the development and implementation of the health education campaigns they sponsored.Through my efforts, the Mended Little Hearts program for families of children with congenital heart issues doubled in size, thereby increasing agency visibility at the national level. I developed the program design and hired an exceptional national program director. The American Heart Association Committee on Congenital Cardiac Defects, led by top scientists in congenital heart research, had little to no input from families when designing educational materials. I was the inaugural Mended Little Hearts liaison to this group, giving scientists feedback on the patient and family perspective. Show less

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  Dallas Services

  Mar 2009 - Jul 2010

  Director Therapy Clinic (nonprofit)

  For a new therapy clinic, I recruited and supervised a multidisciplinary clinical team, marketed the program, developed print and web collateral materials, and implemented web based medical records system for scheduling, billing and charting. To assure insurance reimbursement, I handled credentialing, billing, appeals for Medicaid, Medicaid HMOs and commercial insurance carriers.By hiring a yoga instructor with special needs training, I introduced yoga therapy to special needs and typically developing children at agency preschool and community to compliment traditional therapiesIn support of the agency's preschool program, I assisted with writing a funded $500,000 federal grant for Early Head Start. Show less

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  The Arc of Dallas

  Nov 2010 - Nov 2011

  Leadership and Self-Advocacy Coordinator (nonprofit)

  The Arc of Dallas has a strong leadership skills curriculum for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I marketed the program, recruited participants and taught the leadership and self advocacy classes. I also facilitated the monthly self advocacy group and provided support to self advocates while they attended a state Self Advocacy conference. In addition, I assisted the Executive Director by writing job descriptions for agency personnel and wrote the grant narrative to expand the leadership class program, which received an additional two years of funding. Show less

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  American Red Cross

  Nov 2011 - Oct 2014

  Program Manager of Recovery Services (nonprofit)

  As the North Texas regional lead for Recovery Services, I oversaw client casework, disaster health and disaster mental health services. I quickly became the subject matter expert in Red Cross client casework and developed consistent procedures for staff and volunteers across 111 counties. I provided support and direction for licensed clinicians in disaster health and disaster mental health services. To assure service excellence, I developed training, established and communicated operating procedures and problem solved complex client related issues. When new case management software was introduced, I provided project management on the training and implementation.Following the immediate disaster response, I managed two Long Term Recovery grants funding assistance to families affected by local tornadoes.To help fund development, I created interactive presentations based on client case studies, resulting in grant renewals for the following year.I deployed for Hurricane Sandy and was the casework leader for the Atlantic City operations during my deployment. Show less

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  National MS Society

  Apr 2015 - May 2020

  Director, Program Implementation and Engagement

  I directed program implementation of public education programs, wellness opportunities and support groups across a ten state region. This included evaluating community programs for impact and having a communication plan for programs that were modified or sunset. I recruited, trained and developed a a team of six program managers, and worked on national project teams to develop best practices in the areas of accessibility, camp programming and support group leadership. I frequently engaged with chapter market leaders to communicate programming priorities to staff and Board members, and problem solve chapter related programming concerns. Was laid off as direct result of COVID -19 related reduction in funding. Show less

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  CK Family Services

  Oct 2021 - Nov 2022

  Director of Foster Care Services

  Direct foster care services for 300 children and 400 foster parent families. Lead team of 25 managers, supervisors and case managers providing support and assuring regulatory compliance for those served. Services included traditional foster care, temporary emergency placement, out of state placements and foster to adopt. • Post COVID recovery - guided team through restructuring, retaining top talent• Advocated and secured salary increases for team to reverse high turnover rate• Restructured bonus program to increase performance on key indicators• Leading team in transition from Access to Salesforce, providing training and writing Standard Operating Procedures• Created a change friendly focus for the team through open door culture, team building and streamlining meetings Show less

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  Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas

  Jan 2023 - Sept 2024

  Director of Volunteer Support

  Directed team of six staff who support Troop Volunteers for 1200 plus Girl Scout Troops across 33 counties. Responsible for meeting retention goals for girls and adult volunteers, volunteer recognition and handling volunteer conflict management cases.• Hired Bilingual Troop Support Coordinators to address Spanish speaking/Spanish preferred members• Contributor to pilot project with VP of Diversity Equity and Inclusion to increase outreach to underserved communities in South Dallas. • Planned and executed membership retention strategy including key membership events: Camp S’more for 300 plus girls and Mall Madness overnight lock-in for over 1000 girls and their parents. Show less

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  Seeking next great opprtunity

  Oct 2024 - now

  Director

  Seeking Director role in nonprofit, Corporate (Social Responsibility) or healthcare system.