Ju’Riese Colón is the Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the nation’s only

independent nonprofit committed to building a sport community where participants can work and learn together free of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and misconduct. Before her Center tenure, Ju’Riese served as National Vice President of Child & Club Safety for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, developing and leading the child safety policies and initiatives for over 1,100 U.S. Boys & Girls Clubs organizations and nearly 4,300 Boys & Girls Club locations. Prior to that, Ju’Riese served as Executive Director of Prevention & Outreach for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Ju’Riese joins Host Anthony Shop to discuss the process for establishing a basis of trust with a community, holding yourself accountable as a leader, and how to create a supportive environment for those working in an emotionally difficult role.

Takeaways:

• To build trust, leaders must demonstrate the highest levels of integrity and accountability in their actions and expect the same of their team. Internal and external accountability paves the way for organizational improvement and growth.
• Maintaining open lines of communication with your team, stakeholders, and the public is crucial. Take the time to provide updates on the important details of your work with the stakeholders who need to know. 
• Take time to listen to feedback from key stakeholders and use that insight to shape your strategic plan. It’s important to invite stakeholder feedback at every stage and on every part of their experience with your organization.
• Emphasize the mental well-being of your team members. Taking care of your team is just as important as taking care of your stakeholders.

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ju-riese-colon-9759a34/
• U.S. Center for SafeSport website: https://uscenterforsafesport.org/