CEO Corner
New York Nonprofit Media sat down with Phoebe Boyer, president and CEO of Children’s Aid Society, a 160-year-old organization that founded the first foster care and kindergarten programs in New York. Boyer offers her perspective on leadership and women in the workforce.
The following interview has been edited for content and clarity.
NYN: YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE ACROSS THE GOVERNMENT, NONPROFIT AND PRIVATE SECTORS. HOW ARE YOU APPLYING ALL OF THAT EXPERIENCE TO YOUR CURRENT POSITION?
Boyer: I spent fifteen years investing in some of the best nonprofits across the city and in the country through the work of the Tiger and Robertson Foundations so I learned a lot about the field and best practices. One of the things that attracted me to Children’s Aid Society was that, in many ways, it has the full portfolio of things that I like working on in one place. But the nature of being in a foundation is that you are a little bit removed from the work, so now I have the ability to have a little bit more influence on how we actually do our work.
I now have a great deal of perspective of the rest of the different organizations in different fields. So while we do foster care, we’re also involved in education, we have job training programs, and because I’ve had this varied background, I can bring all of that expertise to this.
NYN: HOW HAS ALL OF YOUR EXPERIENCE AFFECTED YOUR LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY?
Boyer: From my perspective, I’ve always been a pretty open and direct manager. I have an incredibly talented team at Children’s Aid Society—it’s really about harnessing that talent and being open and direct. My approach is really about being a team player. I’m a part of the team, and I have the privilege of representing the organization.
The foster care worker who’s up late at night with a kid in crisis is critically important to the work that we do. I get to talk about that but they get to do the actual work. So my job is enabling them to do their work in the best way possible.
NYN: YOU’RE THE FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT AND CEO IN THE CHILDREN’S AID SOCIETY’S 160 YEAR HISTORY. COULD YOU SPEAK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP ROLES?
Boyer: I think it means a tremendous amount. The majority of our staff at CAS are women. We work with a lot of single working moms. It means a different thing when I walk into a graduation of a parenting class and mothers are talking about their struggles. In that moment, it’s the first time that the CEO is a mom and can reflect on those experiences. So it’s a really important set of perspectives and understandings.
Each month, New York Nonprofit Media sits with a nonprofit leader to discuss his or her professional experience, lessons learned, perspectives on the industry and more. Be sure to visit www.NYNmedia to view the video interview. To recommend a candidate for CEO Corner, contact Jeff Stein at JStein@cityandstateny.com.