Leadership changes coincide with expanded services and planned headquarters move
(West Palm Beach, FL) – The Hanley Foundation, a Florida leader in substance abuse prevention, announced Jan Cairnes as its new Executive Director, along with additional leadership changes and organizational updates that will help launch the Foundation’s enhanced mission of providing critical prevention resources for Palm Beach County and all of Florida.
Cairnes, who has led the Foundation’s Prevention Services for 18 years, expressed her enthusiasm for and commitment to her new role as Executive Director, along with excitement for the many other changes designed to broaden the scope of the Foundation’s work statewide.
“It’s my honor to assume this new role and guide the exciting expansion of our mission and efforts throughout Florida to keep our youth from experimenting with alcohol and drugs, and to help provide access to quality treatment to those in need,” said Cairnes. “We are poised to take the treasured vision of Mary Jane and Jack Hanley to an even higher level of service in our communities.”
In the early 1980s, Mary Jane and Jack Hanley retired to Palm Beach County to discover the absence of any facilities dedicated to quality substance abuse treatment. Through the couple’s visionary leadership, the Hanley Center and Hanley Center Foundation were established. Now to be known simply as Hanley Foundation, the charitable 501(c)(3) organization provides programming and grant support for statewide substance use disorder advocacy, prevention, education, and access to quality treatment.
The Foundation’s prevention programming is available free of charge to schools, churches, and community groups.
“On behalf of our board of directors, I congratulate Jan Cairnes on her appointment,” said Hanley Foundation board member Mike Hanley, son of the Foundation’s founders. “We could not have asked for better leadership moving forward with my parents’ vision to make Hanley Foundation the state’s leading resource in alcohol and drug abuse prevention, education, advocacy, and access to quality treatment.”
In addition to Cairnes’ appointment, the Foundation has changed its name from Hanley Center Foundation to Hanley Foundation. It has also updated its website with new content and the URL www.hanleyfoundation.org to reflect the Foundation’s renewed focus on prevention, education and advocacy.
Toward that goal, the Foundation has also named Turner Benoit its Director of Development. In this newly-created executive position, Benoit, a Palm Beach native and former Regional Business Development and Marketing Associate for MAP Health Management, will oversee the Foundation’s fundraising and advocacy efforts to bolster expansion of services.
“Last year, Hanley Foundation provided over $800,000 in prevention and education services in Florida, impacting the lives of nearly 30,000 students, parents and caregivers,” said Benoit. “I hope my efforts to introduce our newly expanded mission to old and new friends will allow us to reach even more people in the coming years.”
The announcement of Benoit’s role comes as the Foundation prepares to host two of its three major fundraisers of 2017: the Palm Beach Dinner at The Beach Club on March 8th and the 18th Annual Golf Classic at Dye Preserve on March 20th. The Foundation’s other premier event, the 22nd Annual Family Picnic, was held at the National Croquet Center on February 12th and was a great success. Details on these events can be found at www.hanleyfoundation.org/events.
Other changes will help the Foundation continue to evolve in 2017. Ryan Wertepny, former Prevention Specialist, has assumed Cairnes’ former role as Director of Prevention Services. Additionally, seven new prevention specialists are being hired, bringing the total number of Foundation educators working throughout the state to 25. Their programs include the Alcohol Literacy Challenge, Active Parenting workshops, LifeSkills and Mental Health First Aid, efforts to prevent alcohol and drug abuse by empowering students with tools to combat peer pressure and guiding parents in how to keep communication open with their children. In addition, the Foundation’s staff works to educate medical and paraprofessionals about the signs of substance use disorders, improve access to quality treatment and recovery resources; and advocates positive change through local and national thought-leadership.
The new hires and expansion efforts come as the Foundation finalizes plans to move into a new, larger headquarters at the Center for Philanthropy in West Palm Beach. The move is planned for this summer.
For more information about the Hanley Foundation’s substance abuse prevention and education programming, please visit the website www.hanleyfoundation.org or call 561-268-2355.
