Brandy Hickey

I serve as Executive Director for one of the largest nonprofits in my community, overseeing roughly $49 million in operations across 9 counties. I manage about 1,100 staff members, mostly union, providing home care services and Meals on Wheels to our senior population. I was hired on a 3-year contract to do foundational work, build infrastructure, and make the organization efficient in revenue, and I accomplished all of that and more. One of my proudest recent accomplishments was absorbing programs from our local hospital that had been in the community for over 38 years when funding cuts threatened them. Instead of being fearful or waiting, I decided to lean in. I got my team on board and took a risk to save those programs, including Healthy Ages and Caregiver Conferences, bringing them under generational care. I promised my team that if we leaned in, the community would lean with us, and they did. I'm a boots-on-the-ground leader who doesn't just delegate - I'm actually in the weeds with my team. When I get lost in the financial and operational aspects, I go sit in the cafe with staff, take routes, or visit sites where home care is being done to stay connected to the people and the mission.