Written by Gianna Bergstrom
After 28 years dedicated to child welfare and eight years leading Children’s Harbor, President & CEO Tiffani Dhooge is officially passing the torch to Theresa Kennedy, marking a significant leadership transition for one of South Florida’s most impactful nonprofit organizations.
The Children’s Harbor Board of Directors has appointed Theresa Kennedy as the organization’s next President & CEO, ensuring continuity in its mission to strengthen families in the community while providing safe shelter, support, and life-changing opportunities for teens in foster care and young adults transitioning to independence.
For Children’s Harbor, this transition represents more than a change in leadership. It reflects the organization’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that every young person who walks through its doors has the support, stability, and opportunities needed to build the future they deserve.
Since joining Children’s Harbor in 2018, Dhooge has guided the organization through one of its most transformative periods. Under her leadership, Children’s Harbor sharpened its focus on supporting teens in foster care while strengthening families across the community. The organization expanded its community-based system of care, ensuring teens in foster care and those aging out of the system have access to life-changing skills and resources that help them heal, grow, and achieve independence.
“Theresa doesn’t need to become me. She shouldn’t. My job was never to create another version of myself. It was to leave behind an organization that’s ready for the next leader to bring her own vision, strengths, and perspective,” said Tiffani Dhooge.
Tiffani Dhooge
Dhooge’s career began in an entry-level role at a local foster care agency before evolving into one of South Florida’s most respected nonprofit leadership careers. Before joining Children’s Harbor, she developed one of the region’s largest foster care programs and received the Congressional Angels in Adoption Award for her contributions to child welfare. Throughout her career, her leadership has been guided by a simple belief: when you change the trajectory of one child’s life, you change generations.
Now stepping into the role of President & CEO, Theresa Kennedy brings nearly three decades of experience in child welfare, trauma-informed care, organizational leadership, and systems reform. Most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Anti-Trafficking & Prevention Officer at Kristi House, Kennedy previously held leadership positions with the Florida Department of Children and Families and ChildNet, where she helped advance permanency and independent living outcomes for thousands of youth, including helping develop Broward County’s Transitional Independent Living system of care.
“Hope changes lives. But hope paired with opportunity changes futures,” said Theresa Kennedy, President & CEO of Children’s Harbor. “When we invest in a young person’s potential, we don’t just change one life; we change generations. Children don’t need us to define their future; they need us to help remove the barriers standing in their way. That’s the work I’m honored to lead at Children’s Harbor.
Theresa Kennedy
As Kennedy assumes leadership, Children’s Harbor looks toward the future with confidence, carrying forward the foundation established under Dhooge while embracing new opportunities to deepen its impact. Guided by the same unwavering mission, the organization will continue supporting teens in foster care, strengthening families, and creating pathways to lasting independence and success for the young people it serves.
Established in 1996, Children’s Harbor is a nationally-accredited child welfare organization dedicated to strengthening families in the community while providing safe shelter and support for teens in foster care so they may grow into healthy, educated, and productive adults. With the belief that children should feel safe, that family is worth fighting for, and that cycles can be broken, the organization continues to serve as a harbor of hope and healing for children affected by trauma and abuse throughout South Florida.
To learn more about Children’s Harbor, volunteer opportunities, or ways to support its mission, visit childrensharbor.org.
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