CEO James W. Coder of New Directions is retiring this month after 51 years of service helping youth and families. Here's what he had to say about his journey:
"Hello, I’m Jim Coder the CEO of New Directions. I have a long history with New Directions that started in 1973 when I interviewed at Wyndham Lawn Home for Children to become a Child Care Worker – we would call this a Youth Support Specialist today.
Back then, Wyndham Lawn Home for Children was mainly a residential program. There weren’t many other things that were happening on the campus. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew a few people that worked at Wyndham Lawn Home for Children and they encouraged me to apply. In the interview, I said that I could only commit to working at Wyndham Lawn for a year, but after spending time with the kids, I changed my mind. I felt like I could make a difference. I went back to school to finish my bachelor’s degree and went on to get my Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1979. I continued working at Wyndham Lawn Home for Children as a Treatment Coordinator supervising two residential units and their staff, counseling youth, and performing administration duties until February 1988. There was a position open for the Assistant Director at Randolph Children’s Home and my coworkers encouraged me to apply. They thought that I would be a good fit for the job and I was. I was hired as the Assistant Director on February 29, 1988. A few years later, the Executive Director of the Randolph Children’s Home retired and I was promoted to Executive Director after interviewing.
At that time, there were many people in leadership positions at Wyndham Lawn that were retiring. I still felt connected to Wyndham Lawn Home for Children, so I spoke with the Director there about merging the campuses. In 1999, Wyndham Lawn Home for Children and Randolph Children’s Home became New Directions Youth and Family Services and I became the CEO.
I don’t have just one favorite memory from working at New Directions. I have had many positions, but I think that my favorite memories are from when I worked directly with the kids as a Child Care Worker. I could really see the impact that I was making. I was able to watch the kids and their families face challenges, overcome them, and grow. I’m removed from that experience now, but I know that great work is still being done every day.
I’ve stayed in contact with some of the kids that I worked with when I was at Wyndham Lawn. They aren’t really kids anymore, but they were at the time. There was one kid that I worked with who really liked hockey. We would often talk about it. One day, he ran away. He was about 16 at the time, I think. He never came back to Wyndham Lawn, but a while later, he called me at home. He said that he had some Sabres tickets and asked if I would go with him. We went. We still meet nearly every month for coffee.
Many may say that I have that I have really made a difference. Maybe I have, but I’ve gotten so much more out of working at New Directions, than I given. My favorite thing about working at New Directions is the opportunity to work with the best people in the world. People here are so committed and so compassionate. They have created a special place. The quality of the people who come through the program is outstanding.
I believe that there are a lot of great organizations that are doing good work. I believe what is special about New Directions is that we have really embraced trauma-informed care and evidence-based practices. I also believe that our strong emphasis on DEI is important. We aren’t trying to tell people what they should do with their lives. We are here to help them in whatever way that we can, but it is their journey.
After retiring, I plan to spend more time with my grandkids and travel with my wife – who I met at Wyndham Lawn Home for Children. I am interested in genealogy, researching more about my ancestors, and visiting the places that they were from. I will have time to go through the stack of unread books that I have and I would like to do volunteer work. I’m not sure what I would like to volunteer doing, but I would like to still give back. I am also looking forward to less time in the snow!
For anyone new to New Directions, I would say to appreciate that this is a really special place. It’s a place where wonderful things are happening and there are great opportunities to get to know the people we serve."