Barbara Greenwald, COO of CFS, Retires: Person-Centered, 24/7
In December of 2023, ABCD Board members gathered to salute Barbara for her work with individuals with Developmental Disabilities for over 40 years and to thank her for the contributions she has made to the ABCD Board for past 8 years, the last 4 as Treasurer and member of the Executive Committee.
In addition to overseeing ABCD’s present and future financial health, Barbara single-handedly created a fairer dues structure which maintains the health of the organization while considering the needs of our members. During the pandemic, Barbara had weekend conversations with our ED to provide day program utilization rate data so that on an ongoing monthly basis, ABCD could successfully advocate for the continuation of the 50% Supplemental Rate until the end of March 2022.
With her education and background in clinical psychology, Barbara was instrumental in shaping ABCD’s policy on mental health care for our population, beginning with ABCD’s November 2020 white paper, subsequent white papers, meetings, and testimonials. These included the addition of trauma informed care and a multi-disciplinary approach to behavioral and mental health care, in addition to bringing the START program to NJ which have been adopted or are being actively considered by DDD.
From her work on ABCD’s Emerging Leaders program, Barbara showed us all executive’s responsibility to groom the next generation of leaders and cede control, for the sake of the people served and the community at large.
Perhaps most importantly, Barbara never let us take our eyes off our values, mission, and goals. Barbara inspired and motivated us all to think and do better. She will be missed.
