Albertina Kerr

Creating Momentum in Changing Times

For over 110 years, Albertina Kerr has provided life-changing social services to Oregon’s most vulnerable populations. As it navigates the complex healthcare industry, the group’s success depends on its leaders’ ability to manage change and unite around the future.

A Venerable History
Originally founded as a home for unwed mothers, today Albertina Kerr serves children, families and adults facing mental health challenges and developmental disabilities. This legacy brings a wealth of experience, but in 2017 the group’s traditional hierarchy was struggling to keep up with the rapidly changing healthcare industry. When the CEO of 26 years retired, the new CEO brought Coraggio in to empower leadership and define the future of the organization.

Looking Ahead and Taking Action
Organizational change requires support from all levels, and we helped Albertina Kerr form a strategic planning team that included Board members, executive leadership, and representatives from all tiers of the organization. To further increase the diversity of voices, we surveyed donors, employees and volunteers. We shared these findings at a two-day strategic leadership planning retreat, where board members then got focused on high-level visioning and strategic direction. With this foundation in place, the planning team was able to collaborate on a new plan to align the Board, leadership team and staff.

Synchronized Leadership
Coraggio then led the top three layers of Kerr’s leadership through a day-long leadership work sessions and completed Coraggio’s operational planning process. The result outlined how the organization would bring 16 key initiatives to life with leadership responsibilities and a timeline. These leaders became valuable champions of the plan. Throughout the engagement we also provided leadership counsel to the CEO.

Looking to the Future
Leadership at all levels is now better aligned and energized around an actionable plan. The community insights we identified helped the organization and CEO make the case for making care of employees the driving priority. By fighting staff turnover through pay adjustments and workforce housing, Albertina Kerr expects to see direct improvements in the quality and consistency of care its patients receive. Similar initiatives have begun across all of Albertina Kerr.

The strategic planning process also initiated important conversations that will continue as Albertina Kerr moves forward. How will the organization engage its community more effectively in the coming decades? Who should it be serving? With a new vision and an engaged leadership, the group is ready to find the answers.

“ Coraggio provided excellent facilitation of a large group of invested and complex stakeholders and delivered a new four-year strategic plan that is visionary, engaging and fit on one page. We continue to see them as a resource in helping us think strategically about our future direction. ”

— Jeff Carr, CEO