Outgoing President & CEO John Zabawa & Incoming President & CEO Monica Roers
After an extensive search for the next leader of Seniors’ Resource Center (SRC), our board selected Monica Roers. The search process engaged board members, community leaders and SRC’s leadership to make sure we found someone who really understands SRC and can provide the kind of leadership the organization needs.
Monica began her new role on July 11, 2017. After 20 years in nonprofit leadership, Monica comes to us passionate for the cause and ready to take on the challenge of meeting the needs of our growing and changing senior population.
Q: You have a long background managing and leading non-profits. What makes SRC a good fit for you now?
A: My entire career has been in the non-profit and public sectors, and I really want to be where I can make a difference. Our society is facing a huge challenge. The senior population is growing and people are living longer. It is going to take creativity to find solutions to help an increasing number of seniors remain independent over longer periods of time. SRC has been a strong community partner for almost four decades and is well-positioned to take on this challenge. The organization has evolved over time and has always been responsive to the needs of the community. I really look forward to being part of an organization with such a rich history and doing what I can to meet the challenges ahead.
Q: What about your personal experiences led you to SRC?
A: Being at SRC makes so much sense at this point in my life. Both of my grandmothers have needed services like SRC’s. One is about to turn 100, and the other lived to be 98. For one of them, some services like those offered by SRC were available and, for the other, it’s taken a family effort to keep her in her home. I know how much it means to families to have the support they need to make aging at home work. I lost my father a few years ago. He had cancer and wanted to be at home. In home services were crucial to allowing him to remain at home in his final months. He was a sweet, but private person, and it meant the world to us to maintain his dignity. He would not have been comfortable with family doing personal tasks for him like bathing. In home support gave him the ability to live with dignity at home, until the end. It is hard to express how much it meant to him and to our family.
What SRC provides is so meaningful, and the staff here is so caring and passionate about the work they do. I know it’s a cliché that it takes a village to raise children, but I think it also takes a village to take care of the aging. SRC is an integral part of that village, and I am excited to be a part of SRC.
Q: What are you looking forward to in the next few months at SRC? What are your goals for 2017?
A: The next few months are my chance to learn and listen. SRC is a complex organization, and it is the people and relationships that make it work. I want to get know staff and understand their jobs. I look forward to getting to know our board members and volunteers. I will be meeting our partners and supporters to learn about their roles, perceptions and future aspirations. And, I look forward to meeting our program participants and seeing our programs in action. It is
important for me to understand SRC from all these perspectives. Most immediately, this means spending as much time as possible with John Zabawa. His wisdom and insights are extremely valuable. Under John’s leadership, the organization has changed over time, as he saw what the community needed. Over the past four decades, SRC has become a strong leader in advocating for and supporting seniors in our community. As the number of seniors in our community continues to grow, SRC will be pressed as an organization to do more. I look forward to ensuring that SRC will continue to be a strong leader in the community as we respond to and advocate for what seniors and their caregivers need.