Community Partners of Dallas is celebrating a bittersweet milestone. Their leader, Paige McDaniel, is retiring from the North Texas organization after 21 years of service.
“Paige has led Community Partners of Dallas with organizational efficiency and tremendous joy and her gifts are responsible for the dramatic success of the agency,” one of her colleagues said. “During her tenure, the number of children served has increased 400% and the agency’s budget and staff have grown substantially.”
Community Partners of Dallas’ mission is to believe that every child should be valued and loved. The organization provides for the urgent needs of these children and supports the Child Protective Services caseworkers who help them.
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In 2002, McDaniel was hired as the CEO of CPD, where she worked in partnership with Dallas County Child Protective Services to ensure the safety and restored dignity and hope to abused and neglected children by providing resources and support. At that time, she was the only employee of the agency.
“The same organization she helped to push forward, has grown to a staff of 15 people, a larger budget, and most importantly CPD empowers far more abused and neglected children to take their first steps to healing,” said another colleague.
McDaniel’s most gratifying accomplishment was creating the vision and plan for the agency’s 48,000-square-foot headquarters, which included finding and purchasing the property, leading and completing a capital campaign, and fully renovating the facility.
At the recent Community Parents of Dallas “ChickLit” luncheon, McDaniel was honored for her service. The event was headlined by McDaniel's retirement and a conversation with BRAVO reality TV star, Lisa Vanderpump. That conversation was moderated by NBC 5's Laura Harris.
It was at the luncheon McDaniel found out that CPD’s annual Partners for Children Award would be renamed the Paige McDaniel Partners for Children Award. As she accepted, she humbly gave most of the credit to her team. People like Vice President of Development and Communications, Joanna Clarke.
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“Because of Paige - hundreds of thousands of abused and neglected children Dallas County are safer,” Clarke said at the luncheon.
Clarke will succeed McDaniel as CEO in June.
This year’s luncheon helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the organization.
