Molly Greenman named Chair of the National Alliance for Strong Families and Communities Board of Directors
Minneapolis, MN (January 23, 2018) – Molly Greenman, President and CEO of The Family Partnership, has been named chair of the National Alliance for Strong Families and Communities Board of Directors. The Alliance is a network of more than 400 high-impact human-serving organizations across the United States who share a common vision of creating a healthy and equitable society so children, adults, and families may achieve their full potential. In her role as chair, Greenman will provide visionary leadership to the Alliance.
The Family Partnership is one of ten organizations across the United States and Canada working on the Alliance’s brain science initiative Change in Mind: Applying Neurosciences to Revitalize Communities, established in 2015 in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Palix Foundation’s Alberta Family Wellness Initiative.
I am excited to be a part of the leadership for this cohort.
Molly Greenman, President and CEO of The Family Partnership,
The Alliance joins human service organization leaders in peer learning and best practices to infuse emerging neuroscience discoveries into public policy and direct services for families and children.
Greenman explained: Research has shown that experiences in the first three years of life strongly influence the physical architecture of the brain. Just as a home needs a sturdy foundation, so does a child, said Greenman; and that foundation is made of positive interactions between parent and child.
Those positive interactions are at risk of toxic stress: abuse, neglect, addiction, mental illness, and chronic poverty, said Greenman. The long-term impact of exposure to toxic stresses are wide-ranging and include increased the risk of anxiety, depression, addiction, and diabetes in adult life. “Toxic stress experienced at a young age can shorten a lifespan by 20 years,” said Greenman. “This, in turn, increases risk and costs to our communities.”
But, Greenman adds, there is good news: “We can realign our own service systems and public resources to do a better job in treating—and preventing—exposure to toxic stress,” she said. “Aligning service systems with the science will help us increase the pace of innovation here in Minnesota as well as around the country,” said Greenman, “especially when you consider our own state’s focus of resources on early childhood education and care.”
Greenman’s guidance has been integral to the Alliance for many years; most notably, she chaired the Alliance of the Future Taskforce, a strategic planning effort that identified a refocused vision and theory of change for the organization. As a member of the board since 2011, she served as vice chair and as chair of the planning committee for the 2014 Alliance National Conference, held in Minneapolis.
“Molly has provided years of national visionary leadership as a member of the Alliance,” says Alliance president and CEO Susan Dreyfus. “We are honored she has agreed to serve as our board chair as we work to demonstrate the very best of our strategic action network of social sector organizations.”
Greenman has more than 40 years of expertise with children and families, innovative program development, and local and national family service initiatives. She co-founded the innovative shared administrative services model MACC CommonWealth and serves on the boards of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and the Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities (MACC).
About the Family Partnership: Since 1878, The Family Partnership has been recognized as an innovative and highly impactful nonprofit in the Twin Cities area. Last year, more than 39,000 children and families benefitted from specialized services and programs offered in order to realize their full potential – regardless of income or origin. The Family Partnership is a registered 501c3 in the State of Minnesota. Please visit TheFamilyPartnership.org to learn more.
The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities is a strategic action network of thousands of committed social sector leaders who through their excellence, distinction, and influence are working to achieve a healthy and equitable society. We aggregate the very best sector knowledge and serve as an incubator for learning and innovation to generate new solutions to the toughest problems. We accelerate change through dynamic leadership development and collective actions to ensure policies and systems provide equal access and opportunity for all people in our nation to reach their fullest potential through improvements in health and well-being, educational success, economic opportunity, and safety and security. Go to alliance1.org for more information.
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