BETHANY LARSEN
Associate VP, Program Operations
bethanyl@childhaven.org
In her 20-plus years at Childhaven, Bethany Larsen has held six different positions, from substitute to Training Manager.
It’s fair to say that Bethany knows Childhaven inside and out – the branches, the employees, the history. Her depth of knowledge of the therapeutic program and its intricacies is vital to her role as one of two administrators overseeing the program. Promoted to the new position of Associate Vice President of Program Operations in September 2011, Bethany also supervises the directors of our three branches as well as the Program Operations Manager.
With a degree in elementary education, she originally wanted to become a public school teacher, but her career path changed, she says, “after seeing that early intervention is really key to any child’s life.”
She started here in 1990 as a substitute teacher. From there, she worked her way up to Assistant Therapeutic Childcare Worker, then lead TCCW, then Program Supervisor at the Creekmore branch.
Before assuming her latest position, Bethany was Childhaven’s Training Manager. This position included the coordination of all staff training as well as support to Program Directors and Supervisors in the process of observing, interviewing and hiring new staff. Her efforts led to an enhancement of program services, bringing resources form the community and raising the staff skills to a higher level.
So what’s kept her at Childhaven all these years? “Knowing that this program really works,” she answers. “Knowing that we’re providing an essential service to community, and knowing I’m working alongside people who are the best.”