From Resilience to Real Impact: Cher’s Journey to CEO at Trinity YouthServices

The Seed is about fuel you can actually use—tactics, mindsets, and stories that help you grow. This week, you’ll meet Cher, CEO of Trinity Youth Services (California), whose path is pure dandelion: resilience, transformation, persistence.

Trinity operates 24/7/365, caring for children and teens who can’t safely remain at home—through foster care, adoption, residential treatment (mental health & substance use), and programs for unaccompanied refugee minors. On any given day, Trinity serves about 400 youth with support from ~500 staff—and the goal is always the same: safe reunification or a permanent, loving home.

What We Cover

• Becoming the one caring adult: how a high school mentor changed Cher’s life—and how she pays it forward
• Leading through crises: stepping into the CEO role… then navigating a global shutdown with honesty, transparency, and courage
• Mission over noise: why Trinity partnered with a back-office aggregator so Cher could spend more time with people and programs
• Career ladders (not leaps): moving from marketing to HR to operations to the C-suite—supported by continuous learning (organizational & ethical leadership)
• Culture & courage: how to dismantle “othering,” create belonging, and build trauma-informed teams that don’t burn out

Quick, Actionable Takeaways

• Know your lane, build your bench: if ops/admin are choking your mission, outsource what’s repeatable so you can lead what’s irreplaceable.
• Communicate like it’s 1:1: in uncertainty, increase frequency, shorten messages, and be transparent about what you know/don’t.
• Grow on purpose: stack transferable skills; invest in education that maps to your next role.
• Lead with dignity: every policy is a people policy. Design for safety, belonging, and measurable outcomes.
• Give back, now: mentor one person the way you wish someone had mentored you.

Why It Matters

This episode is a masterclass in nonprofit leadership, trauma-informed care, and scaling mission work without losing the heart. You’ll walk away inspired—and equipped.

✨ Listen to the full episode on The Seed Podcast, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share.

Want to support? Search Trinity Youth Services (TrinityYS.org) to learn how to volunteer, donate, mentor, foster, or offer respite care.

Let’s keep cultivating growth and empowering women in business—together.