Exchange Family Center (EFC) is proud to announce that executive director Rachel Galanter has been awarded the Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowship in Public Policy. The Ian Axford Fellowships give outstanding American professionals opportunities to research, travel and gain practical experience in public policy in New Zealand. This prestigious fellowship program strengthens connections between New Zealand and the United States and improves the practice of public policy with the cross-fertilization of ideas and experience between the two countries.
Rachel has worked with EFC for 19 years--not only will she get to see how New Zealand approaches child welfare; she will have four months to gain new perspective on EFC and the community to which she is deeply committed. “I am so appreciative of Exchange Family Center’s board and staff for their support! I look forward to coming back with fresh eyes and new ideas for our organization and Durham.” Working with Oranga Tamariki, New Zealand’s Ministry for Vulnerable Children, she anticipates focusing on policies that shift resources to prevention from intervention and exploring the factors that make some children more vulnerable than others. Similarly, North Carolina has been considering how the state should express its commitments to children, youth and families in their planning and in the delivery of child welfare programming with a shift from foster care to prevention. Lessons learned from New Zealand will help inform EFC’s voice in this and other conversations. Says Rachel, “I am actively involved with numerous local and statewide collaborative efforts like Durham’s ACEs Resilience Task force (DART), Durham’s Early Childhood Mental Health Taskforce, and NC Pathways to Grade-Level Reading. I look forward to bringing back what I learn in New Zealand and sharing with my partners in Durham and across the state.”
During Rachel’s time away, EFC is hiring an Acting Executive Director who will have overall responsibility for the leadership and operation of the organization. Board president, Kate Shirah, highlights, “Quality nonprofits invest in developing their people. EFC will be enriched by having an experienced acting executive director to share their wisdom and experiences with our organization; by providing EFC staff with the opportunity to try on new leadership roles; and by Rachel’s new insight and skills upon her return. It’s a win for EFC and our community.”
The board of the Ian Axford Fellowship in Public Policy in welcoming Rachel to New Zealand recognized her leadership in the field of child welfare practice and shared, “We believe that Rachel's collaboration with Oranga Tamariki is an essential and timely one, and that it will be a mutually valuable relationship.”