OLEAN, N.Y. – Strength Solutions, Inc., a local nonprofit that helps individuals and organizations to identify and use their strengths, has named Kelsey Boudin its new Executive Director.
The Strength Solutions Board of Directors unanimously approved his appointment in January, as it crafts a new direction to provide trainings and capacity-building resources for organizations to better serve their communities. Former Executive Director Mike Marvin, who founded Strength Solutions in 2015, will remain as a Board member.
“Mike continues to do incredible work for Strength Solutions, and his voice on the Board will continue to guide with care and wisdom,” Boudin said. “His presence simply can’t be replaced, and we’re happy he’s agreed to continue serving the organization he spent so many years building.”
To which Marvin added, “We’re very excited to have Kelsey taking over as Executive Director. We couldn’t have asked for a better fit. He has experience with The Virtues Project™, a vast network of community connections, and most of all the personal integrity needed to run our organization.”
Strength Solutions’ primary mission will continue centering around The Virtues Project™, a global initiative and training model for teams to recognize and mobilize their individual and collective strengths toward goals. It’s proven effective with groups and organizations of all types and sizes, from professional-development training at big companies to character-building exercises in schools.
Strength Solutions will promote The Virtues Project™ as a community resource. It will build relationships with local organizational leaders who strive for better communication and cooperation at work and within their communities. Strength Solutions currently has six certified Virtues Project™ facilitators, who are available by appointment to provide training in any group setting.
The Virtues Project™ teaches five strategies to better understand ours’ and others’ character strengths:
“In today’s business climate, success is directly related to staff retention, and staff retention is directly related to feeling valued, respected and that they are important to the organization’s success,” said Jeff Capitani, Board President. “We assist organizations in training groups to communicate with one another in meaningful, respectful ways that ensure a collegial organizational culture. The positive benefits of these strategies can resonate through workplaces, homes and entire communities.”
Boudin is a professional communicator with 17 years’ experience in journalism, digital marketing and nonprofit fundraising. He will continue as President of Southern Tier Communications Strategies, LLC, the strat-comm agency he founded in 2020. Boudin is a six-time New York State Associated Press award-winning journalist, who now helps small businesses and nonprofits around the country improve their digital communications, community outreach and fundraising capacities.
A new direction for Strength Solutions, he said, will involve helping local and regional organizations to improve their strategic communications as a nonprofit service. Strength Solutions will seek grants to help eligible small organizations to secure resources for digital marketing, website development and community outreach that they otherwise couldn’t afford with limited budgets.
Strength Solutions’ facilitators also have combined decades of experience in digital marketing, public relations, website design, photography/videography, grant writing and new-age media.
“One thing we’ve all found in our professional communications careers is that many small organizations can’t prioritize these vital skills,” Boudin said. “They often cobble together an outreach strategy in-house, but don’t see results. Even with all the tools out there to do it themselves, they struggle to tell their story in meaningful ways, which puts them at a tremendous disadvantage in the 21st-century digital marketplace. We’ll secure grants that can help organizations afford professional guidance and expert-level services.”
To schedule a training or inquire about strat-comm assistance, contact Boudin at kelsey@stcommunicationsstrategies.com or call (585) 307-7389. Visit www.strengthsolutions.org for more information.
