Dear Safe & Sound Community:
Today we are thrilled to officially welcome our new CEO, Dr. Pegah Faed, to the Safe & Sound community. Pegah has dedicated her career to lasting change for children and families, and we are energized to embark on the next chapter for Safe & Sound with her leadership.
Before joining Safe & Sound, Pegah successfully led First 5 Marin’s efforts to create a new strategic plan, with an 8-Year Plan endorsed by the commissioners last year. Working with partners and San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Pegah also coordinated the mental health pillar of the city’s COVID-19 response. Pegah’s positive impact has had a ripple effect across so many child- and community serving systems, and we know her commitment, expertise, and passion will continue to advance Safe & Sound as a leader in strengthening families, building communities, and nurturing childhoods.
It’s fitting that Pegah is joining us during National Child Abuse Prevention month. Our team has worked tirelessly – and successfully – through direct services, with our partners, and with political leaders to strengthen families, build communities, and nurture childhoods.
In the past year alone, we have:
It is this record of positive impact that we are so excited for Pegah to inherit and expand upon. We believe that with her own history of successfully steering large organizations, Pegah will usher in new opportunities for partnership, enhance services for our clients, and continue our investment in children and families across San Francisco and the Bay Area.
We hope you’ll join us in welcoming Pegah to the Safe & Sound community. She looks forward to meeting all of you soon.
Very truly yours,
Sarah Whitelaw and Bill Barnes, Board Co-Chairs
Dear Safe & Sound Community:
On behalf of the entire team at Safe & Sound, we are thrilled to announce the successful conclusion of a comprehensive CEO search process. Dr. Pegah Faed will be the new CEO of Safe & Sound beginning April 17th.
Dr. Faed brings a compelling depth of experience. While dedicating her career to lasting change for children and families, Dr. Faed has demonstrated a track record of designing, implementing, and evaluating successful programs, policy, and systems change efforts. Highlights include:
Dr. Faed shared that “I am honored and excited to join the Safe & Sound team as the organization enters its 50th year of operation. I feel fortunate for the opportunity to build upon their significant success, and to support the next chapter of growth. As we emerge from a pandemic that shined a bright light on the broken and inequitable systems of care, we now have an unprecedented opportunity to reimagine these systems to help children, families, and communities thrive. I want every child to have a safe future, strong family, and a sound community, and I will never stop striving to remove the barriers to equity for our most marginalized communities.”
Dr. Faed comes into an organization that has significantly grown its services and impact over the past sixteen years under the leadership of former CEO, Katie Albright. Safe & Sound has become a nationally-recognized leader in child advocacy. Highlights include:
Katie shares our excitement, and stated that “Pegah is a champion for children and a true leader in the work of strengthening families and building communities. She brings a wealth of experience, unwavering commitment to our mission, and a vision for the future that is deeply inspiring. I am confident that she will take Safe & Sound to new heights, and I look forward to watching the organization make an even greater difference in the lives of children and families across our community, California, and the country.”
Safe & Sound’s Chief Development Officer, Brian Byrdsong, will serve as Interim CEO until Dr. Faed begins. We offer our deepest appreciation to Brian for helping ensure continuity and strong leadership during this transition period.
We are energized to embark on the next chapter for Safe & Sound. This is an occasion to both reflect on our past to celebrate the successes we have achieved, and look to the future to deepen Safe & Sound’s positive impact in our community and beyond under the leadership of Dr. Pegah Faed.
If you have questions or would like additional information, please reach out to Brian Byrdsong, Interim Chief Executive Officer, at 415.425.8526 or brian.byrdsong@safeandsound.org.
Very truly yours,
Sarah Whitelaw and Bill Barnes, Board Co-Chairs; and
Doug Tom, Chair of the Search Committee and the CEO Success Committee
| Letter from Katie Albright |
| June 8, 2022 To my dear friends and partners of the Safe & Sound Community, I have some important news to share with you. After much reflection, I have decided to step away from my position as President and Chief Executive Officer effective February 1, 2023. During the next eight months, I will be working closely with our Board, partners, and amazing team at Safe & Sound to find my replacement, and have committed to continuing as a special projects advisor until April 2023. It’s been almost sixteen years since I took on this role with the goal of fostering a collective vision to build a community that protects children, strengthens families, and ends child abuse. Together, we have accomplished so much over these many years. While there is still more to be done, it is clear that Safe & Sound has built a strong foundation towards ending child abuse and creating conditions for all families to thrive. Our shared success includes contributing to the national framework for prevention, the statewide recognition of and commitment to family resource centers as a community pathway for prevention, and the local innovation of two-generation family-focused programming. I am tremendously grateful to the talented and dedicated team of staff members and volunteers who reach thousands of children, parents, caregivers, and providers each year, as well as partner, educate, and advocate to ensure our community’s wellbeing. In partnership with government and community leaders, we have advanced local and statewide initiatives that have improved family outcomes, contributing to a 67% reduction in the rate of child abuse and a 61% reduction in entries into foster care in San Francisco over the past 15 years. I am also deeply honored that the federal government named Safe & Sound to be one of nine primary prevention best-practices in the country, as well as provided funding to continue the Center for Youth Wellness’ groundbreaking work to screen for adverse childhood experiences in primary care settings across the nation. I am humbled through our work to create a trauma-informed and healing organization focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. And, I am overwhelmed with pride in our determination to bring together a multi-sector, public-private partnership to deliver emergency relief during the early months of this global pandemic that reached 43,000+ individuals through family resource centers and the San Francisco Family Resource Center Alliance and raised more than $25M+ for our community. Looking forward, this is an exciting time for Safe & Sound. In the coming months, I will join with the Board and internal team to adopt our new strategic plan that is deeply committed to anti-racism and creates operational clarity, programmatic synergy, and financial versatility. I will work closely with the Board and my colleagues to ensure a successful leadership transition. The vision that together we are realizing will provide a robust onramp for the next leader of this organization that we hold so dear. The decision to leave Safe & Sound has not been an easy one, particularly because of the incredible people with whom I am so privileged to work. I will always carry with me the deepest admiration for my Safe & Sound colleagues. The honor to work with excellent staff members, passionate volunteers, transformational government and community partners, committed donors, and a dedicated Board has been profoundly inspiring and full of joy. I appreciate your support, guidance, and friendship over these many years. I will treasure and certainly miss our time together. We will have many opportunities over the coming months to connect. I look forward to staying in touch and getting together. With deep appreciation and respect for the entire Safe & Sound community,  Katie Albright Chief Executive Officer |
| Letter from Board of Directors Co-Chairs P. Wayne Osborne & Sarah Whitelaw |
| June 8, 2022 Dear Safe & Sound Community, We have some important news to share. After much reflection, Katie Albright has decided to step away as our President and Chief Executive Officer effective February 1, 2023, having then served our community for sixteen years. On behalf of the entire Safe & Sound Board of Directors, we wish to convey our deepest gratitude to Katie for her outstanding leadership and service. Her leadership will be deeply missed. This time marks one of reflection and appreciation as we consider all that the Safe & Sound community has accomplished during her tenure. Leading always with her values, Katie has demonstrated her commitment to pursuing a journey of equity and inclusion over her tenure – never wavering, indeed stronger, in crisis and challenge. Under her leadership, Safe & Sound has become a nationally recognized children’s advocacy organization – named one of nine best primary abuse prevention practices in the country – dedicated to improving the safety, health, and well-being of children and families through services, education, collaboration, and advocacy. Throughout the challenges of the global pandemic faced these past few years, Katie has been the inspiring and trusted leader that our community needed. Her constant calm and action over this time has provided stability and hopefulness – mobilizing government and community partners to deliver emergency relief and monetary support to thousands of children, parents, and caregivers in our community during their greatest time of need. Thanks to the incredible and very talented team of employees and volunteers, Safe & Sound has become a trusted community anchor for thousands of families – a place for caring and responsive support and services. We are recognized as a national innovator, effective policy advocate, and transformative leader in child and family well-being. And, through the team’s talent, we are known to be a constant collaborator with well-established and effective public-private partnerships, as well as funding relationships with numerous child-serving organizations throughout the country, state, region, and city. These collaborations and partnerships have profoundly broadened and deepened the impact for the community. Together with the full Board, we are extremely confident about our future. Given our reputation, visibility, and financial stability, we are well-positioned to attract a highly qualified and visionary leader for our next chapter. Safe & Sound’s Board is entrusted to hire our next CEO and, with that, helping to set the path to our future. We will remain vigilant to our goals that all children are safe and families thrive as part of an equitable and anti-racist system that promotes well-being. Initially, the Board will focus on a thoughtful approach to this leadership transition, developing ways for the community to become involved, and supporting Safe & Sound through this time of change. The Board will actively work with the internal team of employees to set the path and to inform the profile and search for the next leader, and is committed to engaging clients, volunteers, and community members throughout the transition. Katie will continue to lead the organization until the beginning of February 2023 as we identify a new CEO, and work to ensure a smooth transition. She has also agreed to stay on as a special projects advisor through April 2023 to continue supporting the transition. Looking forward, we will create opportunities to celebrate Katie’s leadership and thank her for service to our community. Until then, please join us in expressing profound appreciation to Katie for her contributions to our community. Very truly yours, P. Wayne Osborne & Sarah Whitelaw Co-Chairs, Board of Directors |