Executive Director

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Executive Director	Mr. Rodger Dinwiddie
E-mail	prdinwiddie@starsnashville.org
Term Start	October 1986
Rodger's Experience: Rodger has been the CEO since 1986. Prior to, he served as the ED of a faith-based nonprofit working within schools, community and juvenile court for 5 years. He was also a classroom teacher in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) for 7 years. A native Nashvillian, he's involved in numerous local, state and national organizations. Among his volunteer efforts, Rodger is Past-President of the International Bullying Prevention Association and former President of the Nat'l Student Assistance Association. He's a founding board member of Nashville Prevention Partnership, a local anti-drug and substance abuse coalition and served as a member of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce Citizens Report Card Committee to provide feedback to MNPS. He was an initial board member of Alignment Nashville. Currently, he's serves on the Operating Board of Alignment Nashville and Co-Chairs the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools/Alignment Nashville sponsored Social Emotional Learning Conference. In 2009, Rodger led an effort to develop the Youth Opportunity Center (YOC). This endeavor was recognized as the first "Promise Place" in the US by America's Promise. He was named 2009 Co-Nashvillian of the Year by the Nashville Scene for these achievements. He's a member of the Nashville Rotary Club and an 2008 alumnus of Leadership Nashville. He was recognized as one Nashville's Most Admired CEOs by the Nashville Business Journal. In recognition of its positive workplace culture, STARS has been recognized by the Tennessean's TopWorkplace for 9 consecutive years. Under his leadership, STARS has evolved from a single-issue focused, school-based student assistance program to an organization with 200 employees reaching 80K young people each year providing school- & community-based prevention, intervention, and treatment services. He received his BS degree from George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University and his Master's in Educational Administration & Supervision from MTSU.

Senior Staff

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Name	Title
Ms. Cynthia Whetstone	Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Eric Johnson	Director of Training
Ms. Erin Daunic M. Ed.	Chief Development Officer
Mr. James Bush LPC-MHSP	Director of Treatment Services
Mrs. Kay Higgs M.A.Ed	Director of Prevention Services
Mrs. Lauren Dickson LCSW	Director of Clinical Services
Ms. Sandy Schmahl	Chief Operating Officer

Staff

Full Time Staff	219
Part Time Staff	4
Volunteers	65
Contractors	3
Retention Rate	74%

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?	November 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	Annually
Non-Management	Yes	Annually

Affiliations

Affiliation	Year
AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals)	2001
Alignment Nashville	2003
Center for Nonprofit Management Excellence Network	2000
Center for Nonprofit Management Excellence Network	1996
Metro Nashville Public Schools/Chamber of Commerce Alignment Process	2002
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce	2004
Nashville Prevention Partnership	2001
Nashville Rotary Club	2001
Nashville Youth Alliance	2002
National Student Assistance Association	1988
Society for Human Resource Management	2005

External Assessments and Accreditations

Assessment/Accreditation	Year
CARF	2019
CARF	2022
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association/National Registry of Evidenced Based Programs and Practice	2012

Awards

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Award / Recognition	Organization	Year
2001 Fundraising Award for Newsletter of the Year	Association of Fundraising Professionals	2001
4-Star Rating	Charity Navigator	2017
4-Star Rating	Charity Navigator	2018
4-Star Rating	Charity Navigator	2019
Baptist Healing Trust Compassionate Care Award	Salute To Excellence	2011
Be a Hero - Take a Stand	Auburn University	2017
Best In Business Finalist	Nashville Business Journal	2016
Board Member Patricia and Rodes Hart - Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year	Nashville Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Executives	2001
Champions of Change Award Recipient	TN Association of School Social Workers	2017
Finalist for the Skanska Education Award	Salute to Excellence	2017
Finalist, Not for Profit CEO of the Year Award	Bank of America	2003
Frist Foundation's INNOVATION IN ACTION AWARD	Center For Nonprofit Managements	2009
Making a Difference Award	Center for Not For Profit Management	2001
NPP Drug Free Community Award - Best Practices Award	Nashville Prevention Partnership	2001
SunTrust CFO of the Year	Salute to Excellence	2017
Top Work Places	The Tennessean	2013
Top Work Places	The Tennessean	2014
Top Work Places--Meaningfulness Award	The Tennessean	2014
Top Workplace	The Tennessean	2015
Top Workplace 2016	The Tennessean	2016
Top Workplace 2017	The Tennessean	2017
Top Workplace 2018	The Tennessean	2018
Top Workplace 2019	The Tennessean	2019
Most Admired CEO	Nashville Business Journal	2019
KraftCPA Board Member of the Year Finalist	CNM	2019
TopWorkplace 2020	The Tennessean	2020
TopWorkplace 2021	The Tennessean	2021
4-Star Rating	Charity Navigator	2020
4 Star-Rating	Charity Navigator	2021
TopWorkplace	The Tennessean	2022
4-Star Rating	Charity Navigator	2022
TopWorkplace 2023	The Tennessean	2023
Leadership Award	The Tennessean	2023
4-Star Rating	Charity Navigator	2023

CEO/Executive Director/Board Comments

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It was a year of wins and losses. We suspended in-school services in Warren County due to the loss of funding from the Steve and Kate Smith Community Foundation. Thankfully, the school district was able to leverage funds to keep our staff person on as one of their district employees! We expanded mental health counseling and therapy services to Robertson County; increased counseling and prevention services to serve middle schools in Sumner County; expanded mental health therapy services in Maury County; added another clinical supervisor; increased the number of young adults we hire during the summer through the Power Youth program; and added more program managers as a result of growth. Sadly, we have been unable to fill the Deaf and Hard of Hearing position. As mentioned previously, our training division experienced a significant increase in requests. With the obvious need for our services, we are hopeful to work with the school districts and state leaders to maintain as much service as possible when the ESSER funds roll off. STARS completed a phenomenal project with the Nashville Predators production department to film 6 puppet presentations with our Kids on the Block program. The puppets have gone virtual ensuring that these educational presentations remain available to any school requesting a presentation. We are still able to provide in-person presentations on a limited basis. Our Regional Overdose Prevention Specialists (ROPS) and our Nashville Thrives Coalition continue to deepen their reach and community partners throughout Davidson County. We have started discussions with the State about beginning a new anti-drug coalition once the SAMSHA funding expires to use new streams of money. We are waiting for the final dissolution from the State of Massachusetts to take over the leadership and management of IBPA and we in conversation with OBPP at Clemson about the possibility of merging the program into STARS.