In this episode of the Think Factory Podcast, Renee Brown, President and CEO of DePaul Community Resources, discusses the organization’s work supporting children, families, and individuals with disabilities across Virginia. Renee shares how DePaul has grown from its origins as an orphanage in 1977 into a broad continuum of foster care, adoption, independent living, mental health, and disability support services, guided by a mission centered on creating hope and belonging. She also explores the importance of lived experience in leadership and why giving people a voice in decisions that affect them can lead to stronger, more effective programs.
Renee also addresses common misconceptions around foster care and adoption, the importance of continued support for adoptive families, and how DePaul prioritizes the well-being of its own staff through self-care, work-life balance, and mental health resources. She shares how the organization identifies unmet needs in communities, including the creation of a kinship care program that helps relatives caring for children avoid unnecessary entry into foster care. Through her leadership and DePaul’s evolving programs, Renee highlights how connection, compassion, and a sense of belonging can help individuals and families build more hopeful futures.
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