OP Announces Laura Sanchez as Incoming Executive Director
Sanchez will Succeed Verna Wise Matthews After 15 Years of Service
After 15 years of leadership and girl empowerment, Ophelia’s Place Executive Director Verna Wise Matthews is passing the leadership baton to OP’s vice president of programs and licensed professional counselor, Laura Sanchez. Sanchez will take over as executive director on Nov. 1.
Ophelia’s Place is a prevention-based nonprofit dedicated to helping girl-identified youth ages 10-18 make healthy life choices through empowerment, education, and support. Youth discover their resilience, their voices, and community through after-school drop-in, therapy, in-school girls empowerment groups and classroom presentations to all genders. OP also provides professional development training to youth-serving providers.
“I’m ready to turn over the leadership of Ophelia’s Place to the next generation of advocates who are passionate about empowering girls,” Wise Matthews said.
During her tenure, Wise Matthews oversaw Ophelia’s Place while it doubled its staff, quadrupled its budget, hired directors to oversee each of its programs, and opened two additional sites. Ophelia’s Place now offers services at its locations in Eugene, Junction City, and Albany, which opened this summer.
“Together, Laura and I also led the staff through the pandemic, and watched each program mature and expand their outreach to allow more girls to access our services virtually,” she said.
Sanchez came to Ophelia’s Place in 2012 to provide clinical oversight of all of its direct services to youth. She’s a Licensed Professional Counselor and Approved Clinical Supervisor in Oregon, as well as a National Board-Certified Counselor. Laura is also a nationally certified Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Therapist. TF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment for children and adolescents impacted by trauma and their parents or caregivers.
In 2016, she was recognized for her work as a “20 Under 40” Rising Business Star in Eugene-Springfield.
With Sanchez at the helm, Ophelia’s Place is poised to grow and reach even more youth across Oregon. The team will also continue to embed equity and inclusion into all levels of Ophelia’s Place to improve access and use of OP services to marginalized youth.
“I want girls of all backgrounds to see themselves reflected through our staff and services,” Sanchez said. “The team and I will continue to work to ensure all girls in our community feel safe, valued, and empowered.”