Executice director comes with a long history at the
organization
Filling the vacant executive director position at the San Benito
YMCA will not be easy, but fortunately the new executive
director
– Rochelle Callis – knows exactly how big the shoes are she’s
filling, and already has formulated plans for the organization.
Executice director comes with a long history at the organization
Filling the vacant executive director position at the San Benito YMCA will not be easy, but fortunately the new executive director – Rochelle Callis – knows exactly how big the shoes are she’s filling, and already has formulated plans for the organization.
The 36-year-old mother of two has a lifetime of experience both working and playing at the YMCA. She was involved with the ‘Y’ as a child and worked at a summer camp one summer during college. She was pursuing a degree in child development, and little did she know she would end up working at the YMCA in Orange County for the next nine years. She started as a childcare director, and then moved up to programming director.
Though she hasn’t served in an executive director’s position, she has served as an associate executive director.
The salary range for the position of the YMCA executive director is between $52,000 and $78,000 annually. The budget for the San Benito County YMCA is $700,000 annually.
“One of the reasons I interviewed for this position was because I felt like I could really help the community come together,” Callis said. “Not to say that the community hasn’t already come together. It has amazingly.”
Though Callis is new to San Benito County she said she is anxious to explore the possibilities that exist here. Her husband is originally from Salinas and the couple plans to purchase a home locally with their two daughters, a 6 year old and a 4 year old.
Callis is familiar with what it takes to operate this type of Y facility – more of a store-front facility – since the organization is still in the process of putting together the necessary funds to get a permanent facility built.
Her transition into the community has been painless, but transition is difficult and Callis knows it will take time before she is able to get the YMCA where she would like. But Callis said there is a tremendous board of directors in place, which will make the transition easier.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot of support and I’ve only been here one day,” Callis said, earlier this week. “The staff has been very welcoming and a lot of people have been pulling together to make things run.”
What Callis would like to see for the YMCA in San Benito County is the development of a facility that serves people from birth on up, and reaches a broad range of needs, without discrimination.
“[I read] in the newspaper that Lou used to go out and play basketball with the kids,” Callis said. “I challenged him to a game when I applied for the job. I joked that if I won I should get the job and that if I lost, I should still get the job.”
Callis is hands-on with the children that the YMCA serves, she said. As she sees it, part of her job in this community is to be out in the public, and it’s important to the community dynamic.
“The kids know what’s going on,” Callis said. “They dictate the needs to us. They know the types of programs and classes they want before we do, so we need to stay in tune with that.”
