OMAHA, Neb. (June 20, 2017) – The Board of Directors of Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska (LFS) announced today that President & CEO Ruth Henrichs will retire December 31, 2017 after 41 years of service, 33 of those years as President & CEO. A search committee will be appointed this summer to conduct a search for her successor. Henrichs will continue to lead LFS until her successor is named.

Henrichs joined Lutheran Family Services in 1976 as a Master Social Worker in the organization’s pregnancy counseling and adoption programs.  In 1984 she was named President & CEO with a staff of 25 people and an $850,000 budget. Today, Lutheran Family Services employs 365 people and oversees a statewide operating and affiliates budget of $25 million.

Susan Lewis, Chair of the LFS Board of Directors, stated, “LFS would not be the organization it is today without Ruth Henrichs’ extraordinary leadership, vision and passion. Ruth has built an organization that is respected across Nebraska and nationally.  She has served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Lutheran Services in America in Washington D.C. and Vice Chair of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service in Baltimore, MD.”

Key accomplishments under Henrichs’ leadership include:

• In 1986, LFS assumed Region 6 Behavioral Health outpatient mental health and substance use clinics in Douglas, Sarpy and Cass Counties which became the largest core competency of LFS;
• From 1991-2012, LFS completed purchase of the entire Omaha city block at 24^th and Dodge Streets, paving the way for a new human care campus;
• In 2000-2001, prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, LFS returned to refugee resettlement, welcoming refugees from Africa, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East;
• In 2005, at the request of United Way of the Midlands, LFS began early intervention/prevention parenting programs for families with preschool children at the Pottawattamie County Center for Healthy Families^®, leading to two additional centers in Fremont and North Omaha; and
• In 2013, LFS was awarded core behavioral health services from Lancaster County, eventually resulting in LFS being selected as the lead organization of Health 360 integrated care in Lincoln, positioning LFS for future growth in integrated care delivery partnerships.

Terry McClain, Chair of the LFS Foundation Board of Directors stated, “Ruth’s integrity has enabled her to build strong relationships with employees, as well as leaders in profit and not-for-profit communities across Nebraska. LFS has no debt, a strong leadership team and highly dedicated staff members. In my years of observing Ruth as a leader, her ability to make tough fiscal decisions is a key reason why LFS is strong. I believe Ruth’s passion to ‘care for neighbor,’ and her dedication to serving those in need has inspired many to follow her lead, and has made LFS what it is today.”

Beverly Kracher, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Business Ethics Alliance, remarked, “For over 40 years, Ruth Henrichs has been at the helm of one of the strongest human care businesses in Omaha. Strategic, courageous, and savvy, Ruth is a builder. She has taken the measured risks that have elevated LFS’ abilities to serve more and more clients across our Nebraska communities. Omaha and Nebraska are better because of her leadership.”

About Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, Inc.

Established in 1892, Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska (LFS) is a faith-based, not-for-profit, multi-service human care agency with locations across Nebraska and an office in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The LFS mission is “to express God’s love for all people by providing quality human care services that build and strengthen individual, family and community life.”

LFS demonstrates its mission through three broad service areas:

• Behavioral Health Services, including outpatient mental health services and therapy, substance use treatment, sexual abuse/incest treatment, 24/7 mobile crisis response, peer support, At Ease therapeutic support for active military, veterans and their loved ones, Health 360 Integrated Care in Lincoln and specialized counseling for children, adolescents, adults and families;
• Children Services, providing parenting support and prevention/early intervention programs; RSafe^® treatment for children and families impacted by sexual abuse; infant, international and foster care adoption services and searches; Right Turn^® post-adoption services; foster care; pregnancy counseling; maternal health care; family support services; and youth diversion services; and
• Community Services, providing refugee resettlement services, immigration legal services, interpretation services, case management, and education and employment services for new populations.

2017 marks the 125th anniversary of LFS’ founding as two orphanages in Fremont and Omaha, Nebraska.

LFS is accredited by the Council on Accreditation and an accredited charity by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), receiving an Integrity Award in 2013. LFS is a Nonprofit Association of the Midlands Guidelines and Principles Best Practices Partner; a recipient of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award in 2014 and 2015, and the 2016 recipient of the Omaha Bar Association Public Service Award.

To learn more visit. www.LFSneb.org.

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