Gulf Coast JFCS COO Named Board Chair of Children’s Advocacy Group
Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services (Gulf Coast JFCS) announces the appointment of Terri Balliet, Gulf Coast JFCS Chief Operating Officer, as Board Chair of the Children’s Advocacy Group, Florida Coalition of Children.
Advocating on behalf of Florida’s abused, abandoned, neglected, and at-risk children, and to support the agencies and individuals who work on their behalf, the mission of the FCC, is at the core of Balliet’s leadership expertise. “I am very humbled and honored to take on such an important role and work alongside such amazing colleagues across the state. The timing is divine intervention given the much-needed advocacy necessary during the current state of our Child Welfare System workforce and funding opportunities” says Balliet.”
Florida Coalition for Children member agencies, including Gulf Coast JFCs, collectively care for over 50,000 children and families in crisis each year, providing critical services and programs to this vulnerable population throughout the state. Some of these services include residential and group home care, emergency shelters, residential treatment centers, counseling, foster family services, adoption services, early intervention and prevention programs, and various in-home support services.
Balliet has devoted two decades of her leadership toward the growth and vitality of Gulf Coast JFCS. Having worked her way up the ranks from Case Management Supervisor in 2004 to COO in 2014, Ms. Balliet oversees state-wide operations for over 20 Gulf Coast JFCS Child Welfare, Behavioral Health, and Elder and Disabled Services programs and a multimillion-dollar budget. She also holds oversight for Grant and Information Technology operations.
Ms. Balliet’s core strengths include her ability to drive excellence across all levels of the organization, her undying compassion for Gulf Coast JFCS clients, and her change-management leadership. She has navigated teams through nearly 20 program-startup and external agency integration initiatives, with budgets that range from $500K to $8M and services that affect thousands of clients. Her leadership is guided by 20+ years of expertise in child welfare services, foster care, licensing and placement, adoptions, child protective investigation, juvenile justice probation, and behavioral health services.
Ms. Balliet is a previous Community Champions Award recipient for her tireless efforts to safely reduce the number of children in foster care in Pinellas County. In addition to her position as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Florida Coalition for Children (FCC) and former Treasurer, supporting its mission to advocate for Florida’s abused, abandoned, and neglected children. She is an alumna of Leadership Tampa Bay and a Board-Certified Child Protective Professional in the State of Florida. Ms. Balliet holds an M.S. in Guidance Counseling and a B.S. in Criminology from the University of South Florida.
For more information about Gulf Coast JFCS, please contact Hana Cowart, Communications Manager, at Hana.Cowart@gcjfcs.org.
ABOUT GULF COAST JFCS: Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services (Gulf Coast JFCS) supports diverse individuals and families of all backgrounds through its numerous programs, across 40 Florida counties. Agency values are rooted in the Jewish tradition and include repairing the world, welcoming the stranger, peace, freedom, compassion, charity, respect and truth. Learn more about Gulf Coast JFCS at www.gcjfcs.org