From ProAct’s CEO

It’s a time of transition at ProAct, and we are looking forward with anticipation to the resumption of many of the services people have come to know and love.

Steven Ditschler

As you might be aware, we have carefully laid a stable foundation for the nonprofit organization. While we have expanded and grown, we have done so with planning and purpose, assessing the potential risks and rewards of the opportunities we’ve been given.

Yes, the COVID-19 situation is a hardship, but we’ve adjusted and we will continue to adjust our operations to meet changing state guidelines.

As ProAct changes to meet the current situation, another change is underway- my move toward retirement. Some of you may have heard of my plan shared earlier this year to find a new president for ProAct. The idea was to have someone in place while I stayed on as CEO in a limited capacity through January 8, 2021.

We have found our next leader and I am thrilled to introduce Judie Foster-Lupkin, who will serve as president and eventually CEO for our longstanding organization.

She has an impressive background in finance, and brings 20 years of experience in day programs, employment and residential services for people with disabilities. I am confident in her abilities and grateful for her enthusiasm and skill-sets which will both serve us well.

Judie hails from Oregon, where she last served as executive director of Chamberlin House, a nonprofit residential service provider. Prior to that, she was executive director of the Winona Occupational Rehabilitation Center (ORC) for five years in southeastern Minnesota.

Our new president also spent time as a VP of finance and human resources for a large residential provider in Missouri. She has a business background, as well, as a longtime controller for an agricultural company in Medford, Oregon.

Judie earned her master’s degree in business administration from Walden University in Minneapolis and a bachelor’s degree in that same subject with an emphasis in management from Southern Oregon University in Ashland.

I hope that many of you will reach out to her in the coming weeks and months. She values the culture that has been established at ProAct, and is quite personable.

Thank you for your continued support and let’s stick together as we respond to the present and prepare for ProAct’s future.

Steve Ditschler

CEO