The Family Promise Board of Trustees is thrilled to announce Cheryl Schuch, CEO of Family Promise of Grand Rapids (MI), as the new CEO of Family Promise National. She will begin her new role on March 1 after a transition from her Affiliate.
“Cheryl brings an extraordinary combination of vision, strategy, and practicality, with very strong financial acumen and the ability to meet ambitious goals,” said Betsy Bernard, board chair of Family Promise National. “She is a clear, efficient, and warm communicator with a record of innovation and execution of bold strategic vision. Her DEIA leadership and commitment stood out to the search committee as thoughtful, intentional, and focused on measurable outcomes.”
A native of Kalamazoo, MI, Cheryl grew up in a family dedicated to social justice. She joined Family Promise of Grand Rapids in 2009, as they began their second decade in operation, and has grown the organization to one of the largest in the network with an annual budget of $7 million and $3 million in assets.
Cheryl started her career in the tech sector, growing quickly to manage significant teams and territories including Fortune 500 accounts and multi-million-dollar budgets in what she described as the “wild west” of the tech boom. She comes from an environment where collaborative decision-making was essential to drive growth in alignment with strategy, and that carried over to her nonprofit career. She was part of an IPO in her last corporate role, a Silicon Valley startup, and decided she was ready for a second act rather than early retirement.
In her role as executive director at Family Promise Grand Rapids, Cheryl thought creatively about how to leverage community resources to advance the mission and utilize a wide variety of funding sources including foundations, corporate donors, and government funding. Cheryl’s personal commitment to the welfare of women and children is evident, given the number of single female-led households among Family Promise’s guests.
Says Cheryl, “I am humbled to get this opportunity to work with so many dynamic Affiliate leaders, board members, and staff who are committed to ending family homelessness. The work we have in front of us is urgent, as we see the number of families experiencing homelessness start to increase again as our housing market becomes more constrained and expensive. I’m confident that our many innovative approaches to prevention, shelter, housing, and supportive services to children and their families will help inform this important work across the country and ensure that all children have a place to call home.”
