Hays will continue SPARCC's mission

On Monday morning, Jessica Hays will be reporting to her new job as president and CEO of the Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center. However, the former director of community awareness for SPARCC won’t be moving far — her new office is just down the hall. However, her responsibilities will shift from developing the image of SPARCC to being the face of the organization in the community.

After leaving a career in public relations, Hays sought a position with a meaningful nonprofit. That led Hays to SPARCC; she was hired as the director of community awareness seven years ago.

“You spend so much time at work and I wanted to feel like what I was doing was meaningful,” Hays said.

The nonprofit agency provides free programs and services and is the only state-certified center for domestic violence and sexual assault victims in Sarasota and Desoto counties.

SPARCC’s board of directors learned in November that longtime leader Olivia Thomas would be stepping down. Thomas had been at the helm for seven years and promised to stay on through the new year until a replacement was found. For Hays, the decision to apply for the president and CEO position required careful consideration.

When Hays found out about the open position she wanted to discuss the decision with her family first. With two young daughters and her husband’s career to consider, Hays was hesitant.

“On a personal level, we are a really great team and we knew that it could be something great for our family,” Hays said. “I gave it a lot of careful thought, because it’s not something I take lightly. It’s a big responsibility and a big job, but I’ve been here a long time, and I care deeply about our staff and our mission.”

This thoughtfulness was one of the characteristics that stood out to the search committee. The committee spent two months looking inside the organization and across the country for a possible candidate.

SPARCC Board Chairwoman Luisa Goldman feels that Hays is a good choice moving because of her familiarity with the organization.

Goldman hopes that by hiring a younger leader (Hays is 34) the organization will be able to foster a greater relationship with younger members of the community through outreach in schools and preventative programs.

“I think we need to appeal to a different sect of people,” Goldman said. “I think she’ll be able to manage and lead our team forward. We’re trying to reach people at a younger age and get to the problem before it starts.”

Hays said she is committed to the Sarasota community and has established roots since moving to the area 11 years ago. Hays is an active member of the Junior League of Sarasota and served as president from 2013 to 2014. She is also a graduate of Leadership Sarasota.

She looks forward to embarking on a new path and is confident about achieving the organization’s goals with the current team at SPARCC. Improved promotion of new SPARCC programs including economic empowerment for victims and working with survivors to help them become more self-sufficient is among Hays’ goals.

“I would not have been so quick to want to do this had I not had our team here,” Hays said. “I really admire our team; they listen to really terrible stories of what people are going through and they come in because they are passionate about helping.”