Guest, Ruthanne Mefford on BBS Radio

Mefford was honored for her achievements leading Child Advocates of Fort Bend for the past 11 years as CEO and her 30-year career spanning the private and public sectors. During her tenure at Child Advocates of Fort Bend, the agency has grown from a small organization with a couple dozen employees to a full-service, comprehensive, “one-stop-shop” for 3000 children and families every year who have experienced sexual abuse, physical abuse or neglect. Through a disciplined approach and careful strategic planning, CAFB has expanded services and programs and just completed an $8.3 million capital campaign in record time to completely renovate and enlarge its facility including the opening of a new 10,000 square foot Children’s Advocacy Center, a state-of-the-art Training and Learning Center to train CASA Advocates who serve children in foster care, expanded space for partner agencies in the Fort Bend County child abuse divisions of the District Attorney’s and County Attorney’s Offices, Sheriff’s Office and CPS to work collaboratively in its Multi-Disciplinary Team model and a nature-filled indoor-outdoor environment that brings compassion and healing to children and families on its newly-named Davis George Campus. Through its Court Appointed Special Advocates Program (CASA), Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) and more than 800 volunteers including 200 CASA Volunteer Advocates, Child Advocates of Fort Bend has provided life-changing services to more than 17,500 children since it opened its doors in 1991.

Prior to joining CAFB, Mefford was a finance, marketing and strategic planning executive at Marriott, Ocean Spray, IBM and Metamor IT. She has been very involved in the Greater Houston community serving as a Trustee of The George Foundation, and on the Board of Directors for the Center For Houston’s Future, Greater Houston HealthConnect, OakBend Medical Center, and the Fort Bend Children’s Discovery Center. For seven years, she served on the Board of Directors of the Stanford University Alumni Association, her alma mater, where she was President. She is a member of the Fort Bend Junior Service League and the Exchange Club of Sugar Land.