...a small, woman- and global majority-owned consultancy practice with expertise in human service systems. Using a highly customer-focused approach, we are unparalleled in our ability to tailor services to the unique needs of organizations with specific attention to system and interpersonal dynamics, organizational culture, resilience (trauma-informed) techniques, and a multi/trans-disciplinary view.
Dr. Hardy-Chandler’s self-prescribed job description is simple: “to cultivate a culture of learning and to be a catalyst for individual, systemic, and social change.”
To this end, she combines her background and training in social work, clinical psychology, and law to promote leadership, transformative experiential learning, cultural humility, and organizational development and effectiveness in the diverse agencies and communities she serves. She launched her career in southern California where she provided an array of mental health and supervisory services in inpatient and outpatient psychiatric, health and human service settings working with diverse client populations ranging from young children and families to older adults.
She served as the Director of Field Education for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Social Work for nearly 13 years. While at UNLV, she was administratively active in such capacities as Assistant Director of the School of Social Work, Graduate Coordinator, and Child Welfare Title IV-E Coordinator. She developed the curriculum for UNLV’s forensic social work certificate program, which she also coordinated from 2005 to 2011. In 2011, she joined the faculty at George Mason University and later transitioned to Fairfax County government.
Because service is a priority, she has actively participated as a member or officer on a variety of boards over the course of her extensive career. She is currently the President of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work. She proudly serves her local community as a City Council appointee to the Commission for Women for Fairfax (Virginia), and is an active member of the Fairfax Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Professional honors have included: National Association of Counties (NACo) and Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) Achievement Awards in Organizational Development for Fairfax Department of Family Services’ “Employee Lifecycle Retention Program” (primary co-author); Fairfax County Outstanding Performance Award (Individual) for the “Family Services Leadership Academy”; Fairfax County Outstanding Performance Award (Team) for “Learning Maps”; National Association of Social Workers – Nevada “Social Worker of the Year”; Dean’s Honor Award for Service (University of Nevada Las Vegas, Boyd School of Law); and Innovation Award (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) for development the “Advanced Graduate Certificate in Forensic Social work”.
Dr. Hardy-Chandler’s trailblazing 30+ year career journey, commitment to equity and social justice, as well as her national reputation for creative, thought-provoking and highly engaging presentations and interventions that promote a growth-oriented philosophy converge perfectly in her dual professional roles. As the Director of the Center for Children and Families for the Alexandria, VA within the Department of Community and Human Services, she oversees child, youth and family behavioral health; child welfare; domestic violence and sexual assault; early childhood; youth development, the Children's Services Act, and the City's Children and Youth Community Plan . She is also the Executive Director and founder of Leadership Excellence & Adaptive Development Solutions (LEADS), LLC which provides an array of innovative services customized to "help those who help others."
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