Worcester Business Journal

14 Worcester Business Journal | September 30, 2024 | wbjournal.com PHOTO | MATT WRIGHT F O C U S OUTSTANDING WOMEN IN BUSINESS AWARDS BY LAURA FINALDI Special to WBJ K athleen Jordan joined the Seven Hills Foundation more than two decades ago, when she was hired to manage the nonprofit's acquisition of a pediatric skilled nursing facility in Groton. She'd heard of Seven Hills; she had lived in Worcester and was vaguely aware of what the Worcester-based nonprofit did. But as she got into her job and saw the organization intimately with her own eyes, she knew it was special. "I just found myself drawn even more deeply to working with individuals who are invisible or who, frankly, the public would like to see remain invisible," Jordan said. "e Jordan advocates for society's invisible people Kathleen Jordan President & CEO Seven Hills Foundation and Affiliates, in Worcester Residence: Worcester Education: Bachelor's degree in journalism from West Virginia University, master's degree in higher education from Boston College, doctor of health administration from Central Michigan University Who is your hero? I am in awe of the recent arrivals and their ability to navigate so many obstacles in search of a better life. Their resiliency is an inspiration to us all. Since you started your career, how have things changed for women in the profes- sional world? We still have work to do, and it's slow progress; but we are seeing more women in the C-suite positions and more respect for those women. What obstacles do women in the work- place face today? The constant juggling of our professional and personal lives. This is not a new phenomenon, but one that continues to impact us. It is assumed young women will leave their positions to raise children. Older women are not as valued for their decades of life and work experience. We make so many assumptions about women, but women continue to push those obstacles aside! way Seven Hills approached it from a position of strength and celebration hooked me. at was 21 years ago, and I said, 'I'm not leaving.'" Last summer, Jordan took the reins as president and CEO of the organization she fell in love with in 2003, succeeding her husband, the nonprofit's long-time leader David Jordan. Its primary mission is to provide services for the developmentally disabled. Jordan is now the leader of the largest human services nonprofit in Central Massachusetts, with more than $400 million in annual revenue and 4,700 employees. She had been well on her way to leading the organization, aer she became executive vice president and CEO in 2019, where she was tasked with overseeing day-to-day operations at Seven Hills' 15 affiliates. "I've always been somebody who trusts their gut, and being able to be surrounded by folks whose guts I also trust makes the day to day much easier," she said. "Our work is very complicated, and we're a huge organization. Not a day goes where we don't have a problem, or something sticky. Having a team I value being able to talk openly and have dialogue, and have that level of trust, makes it easy to navigate sticky situations." Ken Bates, president and CEO of Open Sky Community Services, first met Jordan about 15 years ago. ey serve together on the boards of the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers and the Association for Behavioral Healthcare. Open Sky and Seven Hills are working together on a Human Services Career Support Program in an effort to boost the Central Massachusetts behavioral health workforce, specifically providing an employment pathway for refugees, immigrants, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color. It's not typical for two organizations to work together in that way, Bates said, but he and Jordan felt the most important thing is being a resource for the community, he said. As CEOs of human services nonprofits, Bates said he and Jordan oen discuss the shared opportunities and challenges they face. "She's friendly. She's approachable. She's really strategically a leader in the field," Bates said. "She shares very freely any strategic ideas and thoughts she may have with me, which is helpful. "She's funny and has a great sense of humor. She's supportive, and we're supportive of each other. We'll get together quite regularly for breakfast and share ideas," he said. When it comes to her leadership philosophy, Jordan said she's a practitioner of servant-style leadership. She said her job exists to remove barriers for Seven Hills' 4,700 employees. Most days, she's listening to employees, figuring out how she can make their jobs easier, and bringing that information to the leadership team. "Our work is difficult. It's

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