NORWICH — As she settles into her new role as executive director of The Family Place, Stephanie Slayton has her eye on the nonprofit’s upcoming 40th anniversary next year.

“I think it says a lot about an organization that has been serving the community for 40 years and has grown significantly and is well known and respected,” said Slayton, who started with The Family Place on Oct. 1. “We are getting ready for the next 40 years and what that looks like based on our strategic plan is about leaning into how we help families have a bigger voice in our community and our work.”

The Family Place, which serves communities in the Upper Valley, offers several programs designed to meets its mission of “promoting healthy growth for families with young children, teaching essential skills and strengthening positive relationships.” To that end, Slayton said they have started a family advisory council.

“We are working with those families to better understand how we can serve them and things they would like to see us offer the community,” Slayton said.

“We are also working on creating better access and awareness of our programs because the Upper Valley has a lot of rural areas and it can be hard to reach those families that live in the smaller villages and towns,” said Slayton, who lives in one of those small villages, South Strafford, with her husband and three children. “So how do we make sure we are outreaching to those places and making sure people who would benefit, know of our services?”

If there is a model for transitioning leaders at an organization, The Family Place would appear to have a solid example.

Slayton, 47, was hired to replace Nancy Bloomfield, who stepped down after eight years, and the two worked together on the leadership transition with their roles overlapping. Slayton said she and Bloomfield had collaborated on projects previously through Dartmouth Health and the Couch Family Foundation in Hanover.

“We were able to plan an overlap period of about two months,” Slayton said in a phone interview about the transition of executive directors at The Family Place. “We met prior to my start date to help me be a little more prepared and oriented and the first month (I was here) we met as well.”

The transition was well thought out and planned. Slayton said Bloomfield guided her through a structured calendar of tasks she had to learn and some of the curriculum. Bloomfield’s departure did not end the transition process.

“Once I was on board, there is a leadership team here,” Slayton said. “They met with me weekly.”

Slayton also reviewed the strategic plan with the leadership team, the financial structure and the revenue streams, the community partners and the network of 15 parent-child centers The Family Place belongs to that meets regularly.

“There are requirements and assessments that go along with the that, so I am gaining an understanding of what that network is,” she said.

Bloomfield and Slayton, who previously was the executive director at TLC Family Resource Center in Claremont for three years, talked about the similarities between the organizations which led to Slayton applying for the position.

“I grew up in the Upper Valley and went to Hartford High School,” Slayton said. “I have always worked with children and families in my career and I have admired The Family Place for many years.”

Her background as a teacher and social worker served her well at TLC and also will at The Family Place.

“I really gained an understanding of the ecosystem that impacts families,” Slayton said. “So when I was at TLC, during my time the organization doubled the number of staff, doubled the number of programs and participants, the budget more than doubled. We went through this tremendous growth and it really worked with our leadership team to create programs that were sustainable and leadership opportunities for staff.

Her first year at TLC, Slayton oversaw the renovation of a new space on Pleasant Street in Claremont.

“At The Family Place there is that same opportunity to create pathways to leadership for our teams, help deepen our impact and work in the community with things like program evaluations. I think we are also poised in The Family Place for tremendous growth.”

Slayton said she has experience in building “infrastructure” of a nonprofit, including finances, human resources and administration.

“Because I got to do that at TLC, I am able to bring that experience here,” Slayton said.

In addition to focusing on growth — last year The Family Place served more than 1,600 children — Slayton said she wants to “invest in our employees.”

“Right now, with the rate of inflation, it can be hard for nonprofits to keep pace with wages so I want to be sure employees can support their families.”

Overall, Slayton said the transition went extremely well and she is excited to be back working where she grew up.

“It is lovely to come back here and have an impact on the community I grew up in,” Slayton said.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.