KVC Health Systems’ new CEO Jason Hooper will have the help of three new chief officers in leading the national behavioral healthcare and child welfare organization. Erin Stucky is now Chief Operations Officer, Marilyn Jacobson is Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel, and Chad Anderson is Chief Clinical Officer. Anderson also remains President of KVC Kansas.

The changes are part of a leadership succession plan that has been in the works for two decades, with three of the four top leaders averaging 19 years with the organization and the fourth holding a similar tenure in the public arena.

To support the transition, two outgoing executives planning for retirement opportunities in the near future have moved into part-time support roles. Anne Roberts, formerly Chief Operations Officer, is now Chief of Staff and will assist via special projects, training and consultation. Paul Klayder, formerly Chief Financial Officer of KVC Health Systems, is now Director of Finance for KVC Kansas.

Stucky

Erin Stucky, L.S.C.S.W., Chief Operations Officer, has been with KVC for 19 years. She was most recently Executive Vice President of KVC Health Systems, overseeing administrative functions including technology, accounting and admissions to foster care and psychiatric treatment programs. Stucky began with KVC as a social worker serving children and families in a newly privatized state child welfare system in Kansas. As COO, Stucky will help improve outcomes for children and families by working in partnership with the executive team to provide vision, leadership, and management necessary to successfully implement the strategic plan throughout the corporate infrastructure and its five subsidiaries. She is licensed as a clinical social worker and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, where she earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in social work. She is also a fellow of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Children and Families Fellowship.

Jacobson

Marilyn Jacobson, J.D., Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel, has been with KVC for 3 years. She was most recently Special Assistant and General Counsel, working on financial, legislative and related projects. Jacobson worked for the Kansas Department of Administration from 2003-2013, retiring as Director of Office of General Services, a role that included responsibility for the state’s payroll and central accounting services, and serving as legislative liaison and public information officer. She also worked for the Kansas Department for Children and Families from 1992-2003 (at that time, it was known as the Department for Social and Rehabilitation Services), ending as the Assistant Secretary for Children and Family Policy. Jacobson received her law degree from Washburn University and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington in Seattle. She also served in the United States Army for 11 years.

Anderson

Chad E. Anderson, L.S.C.S.W., Chief Clinical Officer, has been with KVC for 17 years. He serves the organization in two capacities. As CCO, he oversees all clinical services that KVC provides to children and families across the U.S. This includes providing leadership for the KVC Institute for Health Systems Innovation, which uses neuroscience, technology and evidence-based practices to transform the experience of childhood for all children. Anderson is also President of KVC Kansas (also known as KVC Behavioral Healthcare Kansas), which has built a child welfare system that is safe, secure and stable. He ensures the services are family-centered, connected to the community and focused by evidence-based practices. KVC Kansas provides services to more than half of all children and families served by the Kansas child welfare system including family preservation, case management, reintegration, foster care, adoption, outpatient behavioral healthcare and aftercare. Anderson received his master’s of social work and bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska.

KVC Health Systems, headquartered in the greater Kansas City area, is a private, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that enriches and enhances the lives of nearly 60,000 children and families each year by providing medical and behavioral healthcare, social services, and education. KVC’s diverse continuum of services includes in-home family support, foster care, adoption, mental/behavioral healthcare, youth substance abuse treatment and psychiatric hospitals. The organization also indirectly benefits tens of thousands of people through its KVC Institute for Health Systems Innovation, which conducts research, training and consultation around the world.

In its 45-year history, KVC has grown from a single home established by volunteers to help at-risk children to a comprehensive organization of over 1,300 employees operating from 33 locations in Kansas, Nebraska, Kentucky, and West Virginia. KVC is accredited by The Joint Commission, considered the gold standard in healthcare. Learn more at www.kvc.org and follow KVC on Twitter @KVCkids.

(See related post: KVC Health Systems CEO of 35 Years Retires, Successor Named)