Executive Director

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Executive Director	Ms. Kristen Davis
E-mail	kristen.davis@nurturethenext.org
Term Start	April 2014
Kristen's Experience: Kristen has dedicated 20 years to Nurture the Next. Prior to joining the organization then called Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee in 2002, Kristen provided social work services to Marshall County Schools and led the Child and Adolescent Unit at Peninsula Behavioral Health in Knoxville. She holds a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Her undergraduate work in Psychology was also completed at UT. She maintains professional memberships with National Association of Social Workers Tennessee Chapter and the Center for Non Profit Management. Kristen is a Licensed Advanced Practice Social Worker in the state of Tennessee. In 2015, she was honored by the Nashville Business Journal as one of Nashville's 40 under 40. In 2018, she was recognized as a Woman of Influence by the Nashville Business Journal. She is a founding member of All Children Excel (ACE) Nashville, and she has been an instrumental member in the Building Strong Brains Initiative, the Governor's efforts to promote mitigation of Adverse Childhood Experiences throughout the state. Active in the community, Davis is a member of the Nashville Child Protection Coalition, Children's Justice Task Force and the Child Abuse Prevention Advisory Council. Additionally, she is a sustaining member of Nashville Public Radio. Kristen has a spirit for service. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Nashville and is a tireless volunteer with her church.

Senior Staff

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Name	Title
Ms. Jennifer Vaida	Chief Strategy Officer
Ms. Katherine Snyder	Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Melanie Scott	Chief Development Officer
Heather Thompson	Chief Human Resources Officer
Jared Elzey	Vice President of Programs

Staff

Full Time Staff	61
Part Time Staff	2
Volunteers	250
Contractors	0
Retention Rate	81%

Plans & Policies

Does your organization have a Fundraising Plan?	Yes
Does your organization have a Strategic Plan?	Yes
Years Strategic Plan Considers	3
When was the Strategic Plan adopted?	July 2023
Does your organization have a Management Succession Plan?	Yes
Does your organization have a Policy and Procedure Plan?	Yes
Does the organization have a Nondiscrimination Policy?	Yes
Does the organization have a Whistle Blower Policy?	Yes
Does the organization have a Document Destruction Policy?	Yes

Evaluation

Is there a formal evaluation for...		Frequency (if applicable)
CEO/Executive Director	Yes	Annually
Senior Management	Yes	Semi-Annually
Non-Management	Yes	Semi-Annually

Affiliations

Affiliation	Year
Affiliate/Chapter of National Organization	2002
Alignment Nashville	2009
American Association of Grant Professionals	2013
Association of Fundraising Professionals - Member	2013
Center for Nonprofit Management Excellence Network	2002
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce	2011
Nashville Rotary Club	2015
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)	2011
Tennessee Conference on Social Welfare (TCSW)	1986

External Assessments and Accreditations

Assessment/Accreditation	Year
Healthy Families America	2023
Prevent Child Abuse America	2017

Awards

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Award / Recognition	Organization	Year
Access to Care Finalist	Center for Nonprofit Management	2015
Best in Business	Nashville Business Journal	2016
Catalyst for Change Winner	Center for Nonprofit Management	2018
Governor's Award of Excellence in Early Foundations	Governor Bill Haslam	2018
Jim Pryor Advocacy Award	Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth	2019
Marvin Runyon Leadership Award	Center for Nonprofit Management	2004
United Way of Metropolitan Nashville Community Impact Award - accepted on behalf of ACE Nashville	Center for Nonprofit Management	2019
Advancing Advocacy Award	Chattanooga-Hamilton County Family Justice Center	2023

CEO/Executive Director/Board Comments

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Recent opportunities and success at Nurture the Next include: strengthening agency operations, sustaining our work toward bringing the agency into alignment with best practice in a DEI-informed workplace, engaging and retaining committed, high-quality employees, and exceeding goals for development and fundraising. Our One Team/One Mission initiative has increased programmatic cross training, staff and community partner engagement, and increased staff connection with their data collection and continuous quality improvement. One Team/One Mission enables us to build upon our already solid reputation in the marketplace and to continue to grow and attract the best talent. In October 2019 Nurture the Next's Director of Programs launched a volunteer, monthly workgroup to increase employee knowledge of DEI concepts and determine how best to bring the agency in greater alignment with DEI policy and practice. The workgroup has been ongoing for three years and continues to attract over 20 staff members representing leadership, management, and direct service employees. The work has been aided by periodic consultation and training with a DEI professional at both the staff and board level.  Nurture the Next has reviewed and changed all policies and practices found to be out of alignment with DEI best practice in workplace settings. In 2022-2023 we exceeded our fundraising goals by 30% to $750,000 by June 30. This includes $300,000 raised in individual support alone-an agency record. We received two new substantial foundation grants and corporate investment was up 40%. Individual, foundation, corporate, and new state funding has enabled us to give incremental raises as funding allows us to offer competitive wages, with a goal of getting all in-home staff to an above-market benchmark. As Nurture the Next's CEO, I am evaluated annually for performance and strategic benchmarks set by our Board of Directors. In turn, I am responsible for semi-annual performance reviews of all leadership staff. This leadership team meets weekly to discuss and review agency operations, quality assurance, development, and program operations. All staff meet weekly with designated and program supervisors and receive semi-annual goal setting and performance evaluations. Monthly, all staff meet for information about operations, HR, programs, and development. On an on-going basis staff members have opportunities for both leadership and program-related training.