Katy Dirks brings an integrated approach to her new position at Project Place. Katy is a substance abuse counselor and licensed mental health clinician (LMHC), as well as an experienced leader in fundraising, communications and events planning. She began her career with an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice Studies and went on to pursue a variety of opportunities that have shaped who she is today. At McKinsey & Company, Katy stepped into the role of Manager of Operations where she oversaw events. During her time at More Than Words, Katy worked in fundraising and project management. Katy also started a nonprofit in her town, the Community Center of Needham, which provides community spaces and services for all of Needham’s residents.
Katy was introduced to Project Place by her husband David, who served on Project Place’s Board of Directors for many years and took a lead role in helping to develop our strategic plan. Katy began volunteering at Project Place in the early 2000’s and started our first signature event, The Gospel Brunch, which was an immensely successful annual fundraising event. Project Place hosted Gospel Brunches for many years, before launching our Open Door Gala in 2017. Currently, Katy is filling in for our Associate Director, Polly Hanson, who is on medical leave. She will transfer to her new position as Director of Development in early September. We are so happy to have Katy join our team and share her wisdom and experience with our organization in her new leadership role. Katy says she’s always been inspired by the leadership at Project Place. She has been impressed with the board and executive team’s “willingness to take risks to offer more opportunities to more people, like the new building, and starting new initiatives. They’re always asking, how can we do this better and how can we do this more?… I’m really excited to bring my clinical background to the Development Department because I feel like I can now talk about the work of Project Place on a deeper level, because I understand from a direct service perspective how the work here impacts each human being.”