Shawna Morris, who celebrated her 3-year anniversary with Phoenix House California, was asked to share her thoughts about her greatest accomplishments and goals for 2019.
As Shawna reflects back on her time at Phoenix House, she says her greatest accomplishment has been implementing a more robust medical model into the organization’s Residential Treatment Programs. In doing so, the outcomes have been in the top 40% of treatment centers nationwide. In addition, Phoenix House’s employee satisfaction rates have seen double digit increases every year since she took the helm as Senior Vice President and Executive Director.
Looking ahead at 2019, Shawna says she would like to continue with the positive trends in both treatment outcomes and employee satisfaction. She adds that she sees Phoenix House California through our three pillars: people, quality and performance. When staff are satisfied and feel valued, they provide better quality care, allowing Phoenix House to grow as a company and touch additional lives.
Speaking of touching lives, Shawna says her experiences at Phoenix House are her source of inspiration and joy, and serve as daily reminders of all the reasons why she dedicates her time to the organization. She shared a few memories and stories, one that included the journey of a client who was currently in our adolescent residential program. He came to Phoenix House several months ago after being homeless for the past 11 years. He was attending AA meetings and leaning on a church for support. Just a few weeks ago, he asked to be baptized and now the church is helping to find a place for him and his mother to live. Shawna says there are many more client success stories like this.
On a personal note, Shawna was asked to share one fun fact about herself. After searching for an answer, she finally admitted that she was an accomplished baker and “could beat almost anyone in a bake-off!” Shawna started baking for her family at age 4 and since then it has been one of her favorite past times. Her baked goods are truly a gift appreciated by all her friends, families and co-workers!