With a Master's degree in Business Administration, a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, and over 10 years of leadership and consulting experience in the non-profit sector, Doug Orville has been named the new executive director of Child and Family Opportunities, Inc. (CFO) based in Ellsworth. "Doug will be building upon the many achievements of our long time leader, Jeanie Mills who is moving on to new opportunities after 20 years of dedicated service." shared CFO Board Chair, Grant Lee, "We are pleased to celebrate both of their successes as they start these adventures and tackle new challenges and opportunities."

Orville, whose first day at CFO was August 9th, is working closely with Mills in the initial weeks to assure that the transition of the agency runs smoothly. "Taking the helm of such a quality organization with an inspiring vision for helping young children and their families is a dream come true." said Orville. With new programs starting in Ellsworth for both CFO's Healthy Maine Partnership and CFO's early education programming, the agency is gearing up for a busy fall season. Additionally, this is a particularly exciting time for CFO. This year the agency begins celebrating its 40th anniversary as a leading nonprofit in the field of Early Care and Education in Washington and Hancock Counties.

Orville's strong leadership credentials extend to his career experience as well. He is a retired Major from the US Air Force where he specialized in software development and spaceborne computer technology. After leaving military service he turned his sights to the non-profit human service and education sectors where he held senior leadership positions for two community action agencies, a large educational non-profit, and ran a small private consulting business. He has significant experience in strategic planning, finance and community development. Doug and his wife Lynn recently moved to Ellsworth from western Pennsylvania, and have quickly become involved in the local community. This fall the family will be hosting two AFS foreign exchange students who will be attending Ellsworth High School.

Grant Lee, Board Chair (left), welcomes new Executive Director Doug Orville (right)

introduction

Child and Family Opportunities, Inc. is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to provide high quality, comprehensive early childhood services in the communities we serve.

Founded in 1970, our organization is the leading resource for early childhood services in Down East Maine. We promote core values of respect, acceptance, and professionalism in serving young children and their families, and advocate for adequate resources and the building of collaborative relationships to promote the well being of our communities.

Based out of 12 center-based programs located in Washington and Hancock counties, we provide a unique model of consultation, administrative support, advocacy, and services focused on early childhood education, health, and development. Our Head Start and child care programs have been recognized as Programs of Quality by both state and federal government.

Child and Family Opportunities, Inc. also sponsors Healthy Peninsula, a community health program for the Blue Hill Peninsula, and Child Care Opportunities, a Resource and Development Center dedicated to facilitating child care solutions for parents, child care providers, and community members.

We are a proud local employer and maintain about 100 staff members. We are governed by a board of 12 community volunteers and clients.

our history

Child and Family Opportunities, Inc. (CFO) was founded in 1970 with the initial plan of becoming a community action program for Hancock County. In time, the CAP idea was dropped in favor of focusing our mission towards serving children and their families with Head Start and Child Care services. Since our inception, our service area for center-based programs has expanded to include Washington County. In addition, we provide limited services in Waldo County through our sponsorship of the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

Over the years, the CFO mission has grown to reflect the changing needs of our society. As more women have joined the workforce, the demand for child care services has increased. In addition to providing child care for children ages six weeks through school-age, we expanded into the fields of child care resource and referral, family child care support, training and technical assistance, and providing subsidized child care services. In 1971 we began the sponsorship of one family child care home in the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Since that time, our child care food program has grown to a network of more than 40 family child care programs.

As the demands of raising children have increased, and stresses have mounted for families, the need for comprehensive Head Start and Early Head Start services has never been so great. Once limited to 55 children in three centers in Hancock County, our Head Start and Early Head Start programs now serve more than 300 children in 12 centers across Hancock and Washington counties.

In 2006 we enhanced our agency mission when we became the sponsor of Healthy Peninsula (HP), a community public health promotion program on the Blue Hill Peninsula. HP supports communities by building a coalition of citizens who work to improve community health. This has allowed CFO and HP to work together to reduce the effects of second hand smoke on young children, improve the nutrition services to children and families, and reduce toxins in communities and homes through Lead Poison Prevention programs.