Graham Windham

Happy 207th Birthday, Graham Windham!

The Graham Windham Team — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:55:07 +0000

It’s Graham Windham’s 207th birthday! We’ve come a long way since our founding on March 15, 1806, and we couldn’t have done it without friends like you. Since the beginning, our work has been driven by members of the community who have been committed to ensuring that every child we serve has a safe home, a loving family, and the resources to succeed in life.

Children with a donkey cart at The Graham School (from the Graham Windham archives)

How It All Began

On this day in 1806, a small group of women, led by Isabella Graham, her daughter Joanna Davie Bethune and Elizabeth Hamilton (widow of Alexander Hamilton) convened at the Tontine City Hotel on Lower Broadway to plan the founding of The Orphan Asylum Society. At the time, many orphans had to live in the City Alms House, and our founders made plans for a home for the children of widows who had passed away, and whose last wish was that their children would be taken care of. They elected a Board of Direction made up entirely of women (at a time when women did not even have the vote), and created a Constitution that stated, “Amongst the afflicted…none makes a stronger or more impressive appeal to humanity than the destitute orphan….The orphans [at the Asylum] shall be educated, fed, and clothed….”

In the intervening years much has changed, as our programs have grown and evolved to keep pace with the changing needs of children and families in our community. However, our founders’ legacy of commitment and perseverance in the service of others continues today, echoing through generations of board members, leaders, staff members, and supporters like you who continue to believe in the mission.

Learn more about our 207-year-long history

Looking to the Future

2013 promises to be a big year at Graham Windham. We have laid out a vision for the future, and have a new leader to guide us toward its realization. Here to introduce our new President & CEO, Jess Dannhauser (who has been with Graham Windham since 2009, and takes over the role of leader from Poul Jensen after his 2012 retirement) is Georgia Wall, who has been on our board for 23 years and has served as the Chairman of the Board for the past 10 years.

“As many of you already know, Jess Dannhauser became Graham Windham’s new President and Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2013.

“Jess’s appointment to this leadership position marks a new and exciting chapter for Graham Windham. Jess’s commitment to Graham Windham’s mission to create life changing results for the children and families we serve is unwavering. His impressive, keen intellect, broad command of the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, personal ethics, service values and performance mindset are of the highest order. Jess also possesses a personal style that makes him a natural leader with an ability to mobilize and inspire a vast array of stakeholders, including his management team, staff members, Board members and volunteers, to address the challenges we face in a collaborative, honest and effective way. He continues to inspire a performance oriented culture at Graham Windham that is unique in the child welfare world and that is sure to take Graham Windham to the next level of excellence as a service provider.

“Jess came to Graham Windham after several years of impressive service at the Administration for Children’s Services where he served in a variety of challenging positions from Chief of Staff to the Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Office of Agency Program Assistance and, most recently, as Associate Commissioner for Performance Measurement, Monitoring and Improvement.

“Jess received his Bachelor’s Degree from Duke University and his Masters in Social Work at the University of California, Berkeley School of Social Welfare.

“Everyone in the Graham Windham organization is extremely grateful to have Jess at the helm of the organization and very committed to supporting him as he leads his stellar team to do the best job they possibly can to make life altering changes for each child we serve a reality for each one of them. Our children and their families deserve nothing less.”

-Georgia Wall, Chair of the Board

Please join us in welcoming Jess as he takes on the task of building on what our founders and predecessors have created through the love of children, and a ceaseless drive to protect and nurture them.

As we celebrate our 207th, we thank you for being a part of our work in this third century of service. Friends like you are the greatest gift we could ask for on our birthday!

207 thanks for all you do for our children and families!

-The Graham Windham Team

Related Links

Dannhauser Named President of Graham Windham (New York Nonprofit Press, November 30, 2011)

Pictures and video from our 2012 Holiday Party and Danceathon, where kids from our Harlem Beacon after-school program gave Jess a special award to welcome him as our new President & CEO

A Farewell from CEO Poul Jensen

The Graham Windham Team — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:36:41 +0000

Poul Jensen, CEO, has been the leader of Graham Windham for the past 15 years, and his passion, conviction, and unwavering commitment to children and families have made our organization a leading force in child welfare. Retiring at the end of 2012, after 47 years of service, Poul leaves a legacy of many lives changed, and our practice of child welfare transformed.

I remember my foster brothers, Johnny and Chester McIver. I have no recollection of life before they came into our home. It was 1947, I think. But I remember when they left in 1950. I was devastated. I also remember one Christmas morning, when they pleaded with my mother to let them wait outside in the deep New England snow for a visit from their parents. They came back inside three hours later, their hair matted with ice. Their folks never showed. It was soul-killing. I’ll never forget.

I remember Bogalusa, Louisiana, on the Mississippi border, in early 1965. I was 20 years old, doing voter registration work in the Black community for CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality. It was very bleak and very dangerous. The Ku Klux Klan was on the prowl. I wasn’t worth much, task-wise. In fact, my mere presence heightened the peril. But I was welcomed into the community, and the home of my host family, with graciousness and bravery, as if I truly mattered. Maybe I did. Maybe I represented hope.

That summer I travelled back north and took a temp position as a “replacement house parent” in the same institution my foster brothers came from years earlier. Something clicked…I knew it immediately. I worked as a houseparent, or child care worker, or juvenile attendant off and on – but mostly on – for the next 15 years; in Connecticut, Louisiana and New York. I learned what really carried weight with kids: genuine relationships and a sense of belonging, an atmosphere of trust and security, listening and learning from one another, and a fervent belief in every child’s essential goodness and capacity to cope, heal, learn, grow and succeed. I learned to set the challenge bar high, consistent with the upper limits of each child’s promise and potential. To do otherwise, I concluded, was to effectively abandon them. That meant getting really serious about schooling. Our kids were failing. Consumed by family dysfunction, trauma, abuse, neglect (including educational neglect) and transiency, they were hard-wired to see themselves as “born losers.” Even when we succeeded in addressing their disruptive behaviors, and their disrupted family life, their prognosis for educational and vocational success was poor. The data made that clear. School really matters. Kids need roots and wings.

Eventually, I worked my way up the organizational chart: department head, program director, Deputy Commissioner, Associate Executive Director. I learned the importance of creating a coherent and compelling organizational and service culture, one that explicitly emphasizes mission and the responsibility of all stakeholders to engage in a sustained, disciplined effort to succeed. Self-reflection, as it turns out, is one of the keys. When faced with disappointing results, whether at the individual, family or organizational level, the first place we should look is in the mirror. The operating assumption needs to be that problematic outcomes are not pre-ordained. Resting behind this assumption is another, more basic, assumption…that the best way to improve our outcomes is to improve the way we do our work. Assume we can do better, so our children and families can do better.

In 1997, after 32 years toiling in the field, I finally got the job of my dreams – President & CEO of Graham Windham. At last, I was the boss, not somebody’s right hand man. Big chief.

Not for long. Meet the Trustees. I just went from having one boss to having 25. And, they were smart – some very smart – and they had this peculiar notion about “governance.” They took it seriously. Program goals, targets, metrics, timelines, strategy reviews, organizational capacity, performance-based evaluations…it all mattered. Before long they established a Program Performance Committee and we began to do “deep dives,” to figure out what’s working and what’s not working. Facts trumped good intentions. Outcomes trumped effort. Reflective feedback, not just reflexive support, became the order of the day. As a result, goals were refined, action plans were developed and expectations were heightened. Our ground game had to improve. New talent and new skill sets were needed. “Down-the-line” talent had to be unlocked.

In time, new leaders emerged and new service models were adopted. Staff development and support was emphasized. The organization was streamlined. We decided to stick to our knitting (child welfare, juvenile justice, education) and build out from there. Demonstrated and verifiable service excellence became the goal. Nothing less would do. After all, lives were at stake.

A sense of urgency took hold. The task environment became more dynamic, more animated. Signs of progress were everywhere. Onward and upward. Pedal to the metal.

Fast forward, however, doesn’t mean we should neglect the past. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” It may sound like a contradiction, but for an organization to take flight it has to stay grounded. We need anchors, enduring characteristics that remain consistent through time and space. Our founders got us off to a great start back in 1806 by establishing purpose: a commitment to serve New York City’s neediest children and families and a commitment to eventual self-sufficiency as our service goal. Purpose, however, is not enough. We need means to our ends. That’s where values come in. Without values, we can easily get side-tracked, or lose our way, or our soul.

As the clock runs down on my stewardship of Graham Windham, it occurs to me that the arc of my 47 years in the field of child welfare, and 15 years at Graham Windham, ends with a few simple overriding values. They are what bring tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. They are what have made Graham Windham so very special to me, and so meaningful to the children and families we serve. They are what I wish to leave behind.

In honor of Johnny and Chester McIver, I leave behind a profound appreciation for family, and the gifts that families bestow: identity, wholeness, sanctuary, unconditional love and permanency.
In honor of the brave folks of Bogalusa, Louisiana, I leave behind a deep respect for the importance of community and its preservative and regenerative powers.
In honor of all the direct care workers and foster parents I have had the privilege of serving with over the years, I leave behind the lessons I took away, and a commitment to never lose sight of what life is like at street level, where life is actually lived.
In honor of all the directors, managers, administrators and government officials I have ever partnered with, I leave behind the assumption that we can always do better. I also leave behind a mirror.
In honor of our Trustees, past, present and future, I leave behind a commitment to service excellence, transparency, accountability, continual quality improvement and organizational integrity of the highest order.
In honor of all the kids who have been left behind over the years, I leave behind a solemn pledge to never ever relegate education to the back burner.
In honor of all the kids and families I have ever served, cared for and cared about, I leave behind my heart, and boundless gratitude for allowing me to be part of their lives.
And, in honor of Graham Windham and its extraordinary 206 year history, I leave behind all of the above, a wonderful and fully engaged Board of Trustees, an extraordinarily talented leader, an equally talented leadership team…and the future.

Thank you all.

Poul

A Tribute to Poul from Our Staff

Here are a few words of tribute from staff members who known Poul for years, and have been inspired by his integrity, leadership, humanity, and compassion.

Tyrone Crowder, Facility Assistant, was a child in foster care at SCO Family of Services when he met Poul, who was working there. Although Tyrone was not one of the kids in Poul’s program, Poul said that he could call anytime if he needed someone to talk to. Tyrone took him up on that offer, and Poul has been a father figure to him ever since, through high school and college, and into Tyrone’s career working with nonprofits. He has now been with Graham Windham for seven years, helping to ensure that children grow up with the love and support that changed his life. He said:

“Poul told me, ‘Nothing in life is free, but through hard work and dedication you can accomplish anything.’ He also once told me that he would provide an open ear and a hug every now and then free of charge. Poul was more of a father figure to me vs. a mentor; he was a hug when I needed one the most. There was an overstock of abuse and a shortage of hugs for me when I was growing up. Poul provided love.”

Rod Mizell, Division Director at The Graham School, has known Poul for about 40 years, and has worked with him at High Meadows, a residential facility in Hamden, CT; Lakeside School, also a residential campus in Spring Valley, NY; and the NYC ACS before joining Poul at Graham Windham 15 years ago. He said of Poul:

“I can respect and admire people who talk straight to me, even when it’s critical, because I can grow. I have a respect for honestness and openness. He’s a terrific guy – very, very bright, very savvy, lot of fire. I’ve learnt many lessons from him. One of things he said that stuck with me was, ‘Never box a kid in without giving them an honorable and dignified way out.’ Also, never, ever ask anyone to do something that you are not willing to do yourself. I’ve carried these concepts with me, and used them with both kids and adults. I was always captured by the fact that he always respected my ability to do this work. That’s why we always came back together eventually. There have been tough times too – tough situations, tough programs, tough kids – but it’s been well worth the ride.”

Gerry Leventhal, Vice President for Westchester Services, has also known Poul for close to 40 years. As Rod Mizell did, Gerry also worked with Poul at the High Meadows residential facility in Hamden, CT; Lakeside School in Spring Valley, NY; and the NYC ACS. Gerry has also worked with Poul for the last 15 years here at Graham Windham. He said:

“With humble beginnings in a small town in Connecticut, to the big stage in NYC, you have touched hundreds of young people’s lives and equally as many staff that found their calling by the leadership you provided. Your clarity of view and persistence of purpose instilled confidence in working at improving our product while always keeping an eye on the end game. One of the most important values learned in my work life was the sense of ownership you advocated and it is also one of the most important things we impart to those youth that we work with. Your unwavering commitment to these core values and not settling are those traits that most reflect your successful run.”

Sharmeela Mediratta, Vice President for Family and Community Support Services, worked with Poul at SCO Family of Services and Episcopal Social Services, before joining him at Graham Windham in 2011. She said:

“I’ve known Poul for 20 years. I met him when I was starting in the field as a caseworker in a residential program at SCO, then worked for a year as his assistant when he was radically restructuring the group homes at Episcopal Social Services, and now again during this remarkable period of time at Graham Windham. There are many constants that stay with me when I think of Poul. Here are two. Poul’s a tough love kind of guy. He’ll be really hard on you and demand that you do your best and be prepared to defend your position – but he has your back, and our kids knew he loved them. The other is – the man’s got moxie. Doesn’t matter who you are, what agency or program you come from, if he disagrees with you he’ll take you on and fight for what he believes is right for children, youth and families, and he gets the job done.”

Mayra Pacheco, Development Assistant, was in foster care with Graham Windham, and remembers Poul’s dedication to ensuring that her needs were met, especially at critical junctures in her life. Her words to Poul:

“As a former foster child, one thing that was very important to me was to know that the help that I received came from a genuinely caring and concerned worker who really and sincerely cared about my wellbeing, instead of looking at me like a paycheck or another name on their case list. Poul, you have advocated countless times for children who were not your own, but yet, you cared enough for them that you dedicated many years making sure they had the tools they need in order to have a bright future – education, so that they can achieve their highest potential, a sense of belonging within a family and a safe home…like you once said ‘we all need home.’

“You cared for children who, like me, needed that someone on their side to provide them with the help and the support system that any child growing up needs. This is why, I thank YOU! Thank you, for always focusing on how to help the kids and though most of them may not have had the pleasure of meeting you, I have, and I can honestly say that you DO genuinely and sincerely care for the wellbeing of all the children in Graham Windham…and on behalf of them, I thank YOU, again!”

Laurie Sands, Program Director for Brooklyn/Manhattan Preventive Services, has known Poul for over 30 years. They worked together at Edwin Gould Services for Children and the NYC Administration for Children’s Services in the late ‘70s and ‘80s, and Poul continued to be a mentor to Laurie in the intervening years before she joined Graham Windham in 2011. She said:

“Poul, for over 25 years, you have occupied many roles in my life including Boss, Mentor, and Friend, but more importantly you have always given a Voice to the children in need in New York City. For myself, and for all of the children’s lives you have touched, we thank you.”

Kym Watson, Vice President for Family Permanency Planning Services, met Poul over 20 years ago at SCO Family of Services, when he was an Associate Executive Director and Kym was a Program Manager in their Community Residence Programs. She said of him:

“It is difficult to fully define the impact that Poul has had on me. I say that because what I’ve learned from him about ‘definitive leadership’ has transcended what I do in the work place. Those principles he taught me have found their way into every aspect of my life, even in ways I didn’t anticipate or know was at work within me.”

Passing On the Torch

Jess Dannhauser, who took over the role of President and CEO of Graham Windham, on January 1, 2013 (after serving in other leadership roles, including President, at Graham Windham), said to Poul:

“You are a unique blend of seemingly opposing characteristics: passionately opinionated and unflinchingly self-reflective; tough-minded and incredibly compassionate; deeply knowledgeable and ready to learn. You are a leader and a teammate. It is not that you fall somewhere in the middle of all these characteristics. You are not the gray in the middle of black and white. No, somehow, you embody all of them fully. You are some wildly exuberant and beautiful color… let’s call it Poul with an O. You have helped to infuse this color in those around you and into the soul of Graham Windham. We will honor it and will always return to the touchstones you have provided to us.”

Giving Thanks

Jess Dannhauser — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 21:21:19 +0000

With the holiday of gratitude approaching during a difficult time for so many, I have been thinking gratefully about those who sacrifice for others, giving so generously the gifts of safety, security and opportunity. I think about:

Parents working hard to stop a generational cycle of abuse or neglect so that their children can know safety and nurturing they did not;
Young people who despite experiences of abuse, neglect and trauma, reach out to peers and others to help, and make the tough choices to work hard at school and at their own success;
Foster parents redefining their families to nurture children who desperately need it; and
Staff and teachers who willingly assume incredible responsibility with little fanfare to ensure that every child is provided the foundation she needs in life. On Thanksgiving Day, I’ll be particularly grateful for those who sacrifice their holiday with family to care for and celebrate the holiday with our young people who cannot be home.

And, I think about all of you in the community who contribute generously of your time and resources to help children and families reach new heights together. As families everywhere come together to celebrate this holiday season, I thank you, on behalf of our entire team, for your role in bringing families together every day of the year. We could not carry out our work without you.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Jess

Weathering Sandy

Jess Dannhauser — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:47:53 +0000

This past week has been an extraordinarily challenging time, with many in the large Graham Windham family being personally impacted by Sandy. Flooded and damaged homes, ruined cars and horrible commutes abound. More tragically, we learned that two children who we served in our former child care programs died in the storm. We are mourning their loss and reaching out to offer all of the support we possibly can to their family.

Their loss puts Graham Windham’s trials of no power, no email, and limited access to communication in perspective. It also amplifies my gratitude for all of the support we receive and my conviction that we can spend our time in no better way than in helping children and families rise to meet the challenges they face in their lives. I am extraordinarily fortunate to be in a position to get to see so many of the supporters, volunteers, staff, and foster parents of Graham Windham bring your unique personalities and skills to making a difference in the lives of children, youth and families. This week alone, I have seen exhausted staff act with enthusiasm, making it to work to care for young people through stormy nights; I have heard the stories of hundreds of loving foster families caring well for children through many long days and nights; I have seen staff go into damaged neighborhoods to re-connect, support and drop-off important supplies to children and families; I have seen staff leave behind their own flooded homes to make sure we all get paid and have some money in the bank as we deal with the storm’s impact on our lives; I have seen teachers get school re-started in the dark; and, perhaps most importantly, I have seen our usual wonderful camaraderie amongst peers in and between programs amplified.

Because of each of you, we have a wonderful future ahead here at Graham Windham. We will keep getting better at all that we do and we will stick together as we do it.

Thank you, all, for who you are and what you do.

Gratefully,
Jess

Giving a Voice to Children and Families

Jess Dannhauser — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 09:00:12 +0000

I’d like to take the opportunity of our Independence Day to update you on how we are using the right we are given in this country to voice our opinions, and to give a voice to those struggling to be heard.

For the past few months our staff and supporters joined other social service agencies to actively advocate for children on two fronts: protecting children from sexual exploitation and ensuring access to after school and early childhood programs. We are pleased to report that there is good news on both fronts, and there remains important work to be done which we invite you to join.

As a child welfare agency we provide services to victims and survivors of trafficking in our foster care and prevention populations, who are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. We have been working hard to develop relationships with law enforcement to protect our children and advocate for investment in services to help child victims. As a result of our recent advocacy with a group of concerned organizations, the New York State legislature invested $1.5 million in the FY13 budget to establish services for commercially sexually exploited children. In addition, the City passed new legislation last week that includes penalties for taxi drivers who knowingly traffic young people, and announces a partnership with airlines to work with law enforcement to reduce international trafficking.

The City legislation also calls on the State to pass legislation that makes it less likely for a young person who is a victim of sex trafficking to be prosecuted for prostitution, and classifies pimping a minor as sex trafficking, which comes with steeper sentences, without making the minor testify about how she/he was coerced. We spoke at a recent press conference to compel the State to pass this Bill and help protect our young people. Unfortunately, this State legislation – which would be more impactful than what the City has jurisdiction to pass – has not yet passed. We will continue to work with our advocacy partners on this issue to help it come to fruition. I invite you to add your voice to this issue so we can get the important State legislation passed.

Take Action

Tell Village Voice Media to take down their website Backpage.com, which is commonly used for trafficking children for sex. The website Backpage.com is a commonly used tool of those trafficking children for sex. The site, owned by Village Voice Media, makes $22 million each year – and 70% comes from prostitution ads. You can sign a petition through change.org calling on Village Voice Media to take down Backpage.com, a step toward eliminating the channels used in sex trafficking.

Send a message online to your NYS legislators asking them to support the Trafficking Victims Protection and Justice Act. The Act will:

Help trafficking victims avoid being charged with crimes
Give victims access to services
Increase penalties for traffickers
Eliminate stigmatizing language

Last week also brought the welcome news that after school and early childhood programs across the City were spared deep budget cuts in FY13, which originally threatened to eliminate 47,000 after school and child care slots. Although the funds were restored in the end, the City created untold stress by informing thousands of families that they would lose important supports. We intend to engage our fellow advocates early next year to ensure that we can avoid this scenario and the accompanying stress and hardship it created for families already struggling to maintain quality care for their children.

We could not carry out our work without friends like you. Your support for our efforts – from our advocacy to the direct services we provide every day – empowers children and families to achieve their own independence, by taking charge of the challenges they face and forging a path toward success in life.

We thank you, and wish you a Happy Fourth!

Jess Dannhauser
President

Nick Kristof, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, has brought media attention to the issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children in his columns:

Not Quite a Teen, Yet Sold for Sex, April 18, 2012

She Has a Pimp’s Name Etched on Her, May 23, 2012

Financiers and Sex Trafficking, March 31, 2012 (about action against Backpage.com)

Welcome to Our New Site!

The Graham Windham Team — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:43:44 +0000

Welcome to Graham Windham’s redesigned, rejuvenated and retooled website. We thought it important to put a fresh public face on our resurgent agency. We wouldn’t want our accomplishments, particularly of late, to get lost in the blur of all the activity. Better to freeze frame some of our best stuff on our new website to show folks with even the slightest interest a little bit about who we are and what, exactly, is going on here at Graham Windham.

You might remember I addressed some of these “goings-on” in one of our recent newsletters. I wrote about finding our own individual and collective souls, “opening ourselves up to the blessings and risks associated with strong values, bold audacious goals and common cause as we work tenaciously to harness the full potential of Graham Windham in service of one over-arching and profoundly important purpose…to ensure that every Graham Windham child has a strong, loving and permanent family, and the opportunity and preparation to succeed in school and life”. This website is meant to capture some of this excitement, and to use it/channel it to help mold our organizational culture around our core values of safety, good care, family, education, service excellence, belief (in the children and families we are honored to serve), personal/organizational integrity and public/private partnership.

Capturing this excitement, and putting it on display, is particularly important because Graham Windham is a culture-driven organization. We conduct our business through strong social contracts that explicitly emphasizes our mission and the responsibility of all our stakeholders (management, staff, board, clients, supporters, etc.) to engage in a sustained, disciplined effort to succeed. You can’t put your culture to work if it’s not understood, cultivated and appreciated. So, with this new website, we hope to make clear what is important to us, our values, our imperatives, how we think about “the work” and how we go about doing “the work”.

We also hope to extend our reach beyond the our internal boundaries to our funders (and potential funders), our government regulators/evaluators, the child welfare/juvenile justice/education professional community and the public at large for the purposes of advocacy and education. We will also use it as a recruitment tool, for staff and foster parents and as a way to attract support from foundations, corporations and individuals.

This website is a work in progress. Let us know what you think. We welcome your ideas. Like everything else here at Graham Windham, it can always get better. There is no finish line.

Poul Jensen
Chief Executive Officer