Dennis Richardson is the retired President & CEO of Hillside Family of Agencies, based in Rochester, NY. Richardson initiated his career as a paraprofessional in a NJ county psychiatric facility during the early stages of deinstitutionalization. He moved on from there to community based facilities and determined that his particular interest was the health and well being of children and their families thriving in their communities. Over the last 40+ years, Richardson has served in leadership for several family and children’s services not-for-profit organizations in Brooklyn, Massachusetts, and Rochester.

Throughout his career, Richardson has ensured that he has been engaged in meaningful work. That said, meaningful work without impact, authentic, measurable change is anathema to Richardson. While at Hillside in particular, Richardson sought to continually move the organization to evidence-based practices, while also cultivating a variety of novel services whose effectiveness was regularly assessed by evaluation & research (both internal & external to the agency).

Managing the current challenges of a growing not-for-profit organization, which had a legacy dating to 1837, while also positioning the organization for a dynamically changing future was especially intriguing to him. Building a high performing organization that creates productive, impactful change for an organization’s consumers while also providing leadership for the field is of special interest.

Richardson received his B.A. in psychology from Montclair State University, and his M.S. in social work from Columbia University. He has served as Chair of the Alliance for Strong Families and Children, Chair of the Greater Rochester Health Foundation, and as a board member for the New York State business Council along with a variety of other national, statewide, and local boards & committees.