by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Audrey Moran knows exactly what she’s getting into as the next president and CEO of The Sulzbacher Center. She’s a former interim director and her family has been cooking Christmas Eve dinner for the center’s residents for the past four years. She’ll work with what she calls a “top-notch” board and an “energetic, talented” staff.
Moran is also well-aware of the burn-out factor when working with hundreds of homeless — often desperate — men, women and children on a daily basis.
“That’s exactly the conversation I had with the interview team,” said Moran, who is a mediation attorney and former chief of staff under former Mayor John Delaney. “You can’t expect to run the center for 10 years.”
Moran takes over for the retiring Sherry Burns Oct. 1 and she has no intention of running the center for the next decade for one very good reason: she’d like to see the center out of business and herself out of a job well before then.
“That would be the prefect result,” said Moran.
In order to accomplish the dubious task of forcing herself into unemployment, Moran and the board will have to make good on its plan to not just end homelessness in Jacksonville by assuring every man, woman and child has a bed to sleep in at night, but end it through the prevention of homelessness.
“This board has a plan to end homelessness by getting to the roots of homelessness,” she said. “This board is so energized and so engaged and they are going to do things that have never been tried before in Northeast Florida.”
At the heart of that plan is the intention to create a housing program that will allow folks struggling to make it through each day to stay in a safe shelter that will allow them to stay employed, stay in school, stay healthy and remain a family.
“The key is prevention and creating a viable alternative to being homeless,” said Moran, who was the interim director for a few months in 2003. “I’m very excited to be a part of this and if I thought it was going to be status quo, I wouldn’t do it.”
Moran was chosen for the job over six others that made it to the last stage of the interview process. Jeanette Ghioto, vice president of development for The Sulzbacher Center, declined to say who else was considered for the job. She did say over half were local candidates and overall, the center received over 100 resumes.
Board Chairman Jeff Spence of ICS Logistics said Moran was the right choice.
“I am extremely pleased that Moran will be the next president/CEO of the center as her leadership skills and her history of commitment to our community will ensure that The Sulzbacher Center continues to play a vital role on the pathway from homelessness to home for at risk and homeless men, women and children in our town,” said Spence.
Search committee chair Trisha Cannan said Moran “Was chosen because she brings a proven community presence and will be the most effective leader for the dynamic Sulzbacher team currently in place.”
Moran said she realizes the job will come with ups and downs and intends to immediately take advantage of the staff in place.
“If you work hard for positive results, that’s what keeps people motivated,” she said. “Every day is not going to be a home run. That’s why you have to savor the days that are home runs.”
Moran said the face of homelessness has changed over the past few years.
“Homelessness is not the old man eating out of a dumpster — although that’s part of it. Homelessness is the mother pushing the baby carriage,” said Moran, explaining that homelessness affects the entire community regardless of anyone’s demographic, social or economic stature. “It’s an economic development problem. It’s a Downtown problem. It’s a safety problem. It’s a family problem. It’s an education problem.
“You get to work with every sector of society — government, non-profits, doctors, lawyers.
“It’s a big opportunity and that’s exciting.”