Title
To Recognize, Honor and Celebrate Duane Casares on his Retirement from Directions for Youth & Families After 33 Years of Service and Leadership
Body
WHEREAS, Duane Casares joined Directions for Youth & Families (DFYF) in 1990, beginning his career as a Program Manager, promoted to Clinical Director, and working his way up to CEO in 2011; and
WHEREAS, Directions for Youth & Families is a nonprofit whose goal is to build and inspire hope, healing, and resilience for youth, families, and communities through counseling and education; and
WHEREAS, under Mr. Casares’ leadership, DFYF has grown to be one of the leading mental and behavioral health providers for Central Ohio youth and their families; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, the agency was named one of Five Nonprofits to Watch by The Columbus Foundation and was recognized as the 2017 United Way Champion of Children; and
WHEREAS, nationally, Mr. Casares has been a leader in advancing trauma-informed care, giving talks about trauma-informed care and his agency’s outreach model at the White House, New York City Public Schools, Bridge Housing Corporation of San Francisco, Boston University Law School, and many more organizations; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Casares also serves as a presenter, trainer, consultant, panelist, CEU provider, and educator for numerous organizations, court system, schools, businesses and conferences; and
WHEREAS, his leadership and admirable commitment to giving back to the broader community does not stop short, considering Ms. Casares’s service with several organizations including National Crittenton Leadership Team, Executive Board of United Way of Central Ohio, President’s Panel of the Center for Healthy Families, Executive Board of the Human Service Chamber, and Executive Committee of Provider Leadership Association; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Casares’ dedication has been recognized by many as he was honored at The Ohio State University with the prestigious College of Social Work Alumni Hall of Fame Distinguished Career Award and was featured in the 2014 edition of Who’s Who in Latino Columbus; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That this Council recognizes, commends, and celebrates Duane Casares upon his retirement as the CEO of Directions for Youth & Families and thanks him for his 33 years of service and leadership to the Columbus community.