Word just arrived that Teresa Lenling has been named Hope Cottage’s CEO replacing Brooks Quinlan, who held the position for the past three years and decided to take “a personal sabbatical to travel across North America.”
Teresa is a natural fit for the organization that “fosters nurturing homes for North Texas children through adoption, foster care, education and parent support.”
According to Hope Cottage Board of Directors Chair Kerry Fitzgerald, “We believe Teresa is the ideal leader to help Hope Cottage continue building on its strong, 102-year foundation of adoption services through our expanding work in foster care, new parent support and teen education. As we embark on a new strategic plan this year, she has the right mix of expertise and community connections to increase the impact and visibility of our work, ensuring children grow up in the best environments possible.”
Prior to accepting her new role, Teresa served as Perot Museum’s VP of school and community engagement, where she crafted the vision and operations for the museum’s education programs when it opened its new downtown Dallas location in 2012. In addition, she designed the museum’s new TECH (Tinker, Engineer, Create, Hack) Truck mobile maker initiative, launching a comprehensive outreach and engagement strategy that broke down barriers and engaged communities that do not typically visit a science museum. These and other program initiatives, such as a STEM Teacher Institute and offsite school programs, grew in part due to her collaborative work with key community organizations and leaders, as well as her contributions to sponsorship and philanthropic strategy.”
Before joining the Perot, she was the director of public engagement at the Science Center of Iowa. Having earned her Bachelor of Science degrees in both psychology and biology from the University of South Dakota, she is currently completing her MBA this year through Baylor University.
Regarding her new responsibilities, Teresa said, “Every parent is on a continual learning journey on how to best nurture their child. I can think of no mission more worthy, no challenge I am more honored to take on, than helping parents of all backgrounds be educated and prepared to give children safe, loving homes that help them grow and thrive.”
During Brooks’ tenure as CEO, Hope Cottage celebrated its centennial celebration as well as having Alley’s House become part of Hope Cottage’s programs and services.
* Photo credit: Simon Luna
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