Jo Ann Mattson, will be stepping down from her role as Executive Director at the Light House at the end of the month after nearly six years at the helm.
In a letter to Board members, Mattson said, “The Light House is a place like no other and this has been the most fulfilling work I have ever done. My love and commitment to the mission remains firm and I have every confidence in the strong and compassionate team that will be steering this transition and keeping the many programs and services going strong.”
In addition to guiding the homeless prevention shelter through the trials of a global pandemic, Mattson is also credited with:
- Expansion of The Light House’s Safe Harbour Resource Center (SHRC) to focus on providing robust prevention and diversion support, and outreach to street homeless.
- Successfully ushering in a campaign to support the long-term financial stability of Light House operations.
- Facilitating a significant increase in local and national grant partnerships.
- Elevating The Light House’s presence in the community by participating in partnership boards, including Anne Arundel and Annapolis Coalition to End Homelessness, Anne Arundel Connecting Together (ACT), and Community Action Agency of Anne Arundel County—an important step to ensure that The Light House has directional say in how our community responds to our neighbors experiencing a crisis.
- Strong leadership throughout the Covid-19 crisis and successful navigation during this critical period of operational challenges and organizational growth—Light House programs have been consistently serving 40% more individuals and families overall and operational expenses have increased by 30% since the start of the crisis.
Light House Deputy Director, Heather Cassity, has been designated by The Light House Board as Interim Executive Director. Heather has been deeply engaged in all aspects of Light House programs and operations for over 5 years. The Light House Board has expressed great confidence in Heather and the entire staff as seek to find a permanent replacement for Mattson.
Editor’s Note: Please have a listen to the podcast we did with Jo Ann back in August:
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