Cornerstones of Care Names Merideth Rose New President/CEO

Rose Brings Experience from Community Services League and Independence School District

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July 7, 2022 (KANSAS CITY, MO) -- Merideth Rose has been named the President and CEO of Cornerstones of Care and will begin at the agency on July 25th.

Rose comes to Cornerstones of Care from the Community Services League in Independence, Mo., where she served as the Chief People Officer. Prior to that, she was Director of Neighborhood, Family Services, and Caring Communities for the Independence School District. At Cornerstones of Care, Rose replaces Denise Cross, who stepped away from her role in March.

The hiring was the culmination of a CEO search that began in March. The search committee identified Rose’s experience, passion and commitment to youth and families, which is well suited to lead Cornerstones of Care.

“We were looking for someone with experience and compassion to execute our strategic plan and carry out our vision,” said Cornerstones of Care Board Chair Julie Barnett. “Merideth has all of the qualities we wanted.”

At Community Services League, Rose joined the board in 2020 and helped lead the organization through the pandemic. In 2021, Rose joined the staff in a key leadership position as Chief People Officer. Her work there included oversight of the organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Community Services League CEO Doug Cowan said in an email to CSL staff that he normally would be sad to see someone like Rose leave the organization but was pleased to see her use her leadership skills as a President and CEO.

“As I said at the beginning, she has ‘it.’ She was born to be a leader, and to change lives,” Cowan wrote to his staff.  “I’m glad that CSL was part of her journey, and she has created a lasting impact on this organization.”

At the Independence School District, Rose led initiatives to provide support services to students and families and aid them to self-sufficiency. Rose oversaw 35 licensed social workers and case managers to support students from pre-school to 12th grade. She led efforts to reduce barriers to student success, including domestic violence, homelessness, abuse and neglect.

“Cornerstones of Care is a leader in foster care and adoption, supporting youth and families, and educating our community,” Rose said. “It is an indescribable honor to be selected as the next caretaker for such a phenomenal organization, and it is an assignment I do not take lightly.”

Rose also served communities as the Public Affairs Officer for the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In that role, she served as principal advisor and Deputy to the External Affairs Director on public information involving the development and delivery of both emergency and non-emergency information programs to federal, state and local government officials, the public, news media and the emergency management community. During times of nationally declared disasters, Rose led cross-functional emergency response and recovery teams for FEMA, including the Agency’s largest Community Relations deployment in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in 2012, in which Rose was responsible for the operational management of more than 1,300 disaster reservists.

Rose’s work with the Community Service League included overseeing diversity, equity, and inclusion for the organization, which will fit with Cornerstones of Care’s DEI commitment. Chief Development Officer Chad Harris, who served as Cornerstones of Care’s interim CEO, said he is looking forward to the continued commitment to the organization’s DEI work.

“Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is an important organizational value,” Harris said. “We will continue to enhance our commitment to all people we serve.”

Original at https://www.cornerstonesofcare.org/news-and-events/Newsroom.