Phil Acord, the CEO of Chambliss Center for Children in Chattanooga, will retire at the end of this year after 50 years of employment with the nonprofit organization.
Katie Harbison, the current president of the Chambliss Center, will succeed Acord in the CEO position on Nov. 12, completing a five-year succession plan.
Acord, who began his career with the agency in 1971, will transition into the honorary role of CEO Emeritus. Harbison, 16-year employee with Chambliss Center for Children, becomes CEO in November, overseeing the organization and its partner agencies' $10 million budget and over 300 employees.
"Phil Acord is a true champion for children," says Board Chairman Julie Stowe. "His passion, efforts, and accomplishments in the realm of early childhood education have established Chambliss Center for Children as a model institution for the most inventive and inclusive children's programs of national acclaim."
During the planned five-year transition, Harbison worked alongside Acord as vice president and then president of Chambliss Center for Children. Harbison, a native of Chattanooga, attended the Baylor School and earned her Bachelor and Master degrees from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She is a graduate of Leadership Chattanooga; a past Board member and Board President of both Youth Leadership Chattanooga and the local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals; a member of the Downtown Chattanooga Rotary Club; and recently served on the State of Tennessee's Child Well-being Task Force. Harbison currently serves as the co-chairman of the local Early Matters Coalition and is involved in both the child welfare system and the early childhood education arena.
"While Phil will be missed dearly, I am thrilled that Katie Harbison will be taking on the role of President/CEO," Stowe said. "She has worked alongside Phil for many years and is an incredible leader in her own right.
Chambliss Center for Children is a local non-profit organization that has been caring for this community's children 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year since 1872. Chambliss provides care for over 750 children every day through an Early Childhood Education and Extended Child Care Program, as well as a Residential Program, which recruits and trains foster families and operates a Transitional Living Program. The newest addition to the Residential program, the Isaiah 117 House at Chambliss Center for Children, is currently in development and will provide a welcoming space for children and teens awaiting foster placement.
- Compiled by Dave Flessner