WE:LEAD Annual Women's Business Forum

Coming from a family that taught possibility rather than limitation, Vickie Thompson-Sandy has built a career in health and human services and quickly ascended to leadership roles within the not for profit sector. As a leader in non-profit, Vickie has centered her work on children and their families believing that communities are healthier when children are able to reach their full potential and remain within their family of origin; having services focused on keeping children not only safe in their own home, but better off because the child welfare agency came alongside them. In May 2019, Vickie joined The Buckeye Ranch in Grove City, as their first female President and CEO. The Buckeye Ranch is a not-for-profit organization treating children who have experienced trauma and have behavioral health challenges. As the fourth CEO in the 61 years of serving Ohio, The Buckeye Ranch has a robust continuum of services centered on three areas of focus – Child Welfare, Behavioral Health, and Educational Services. With multiple locations across Ohio, the agency serves almost 5,000 children annually through community-based services, day treatment, Transitional Aged Youth, child welfare services to kinship & foster care services, and residential treatment. In the first year in Ohio, Vickie has completed a strategic plan, reorganized three governance boards into one board of directors, and shifted the continuum of care structure to better integrate services for those served by The Buckeye Ranch. Coming from Metro Detroit as the organization’s first female President, Thompson-Sandy guided a staff of nearly 1,900 in their quest to serve more than 16,000 clients annually, all driven by the belief that we have the innate ability to overcome obstacles by working together in community. “My personal mission is to empower professionals to see the strengths of all families and the positive impact that family and community has on healing.” she says. “Our goal is to partner with children and families to figure out how they can overcome whatever obstacles are in their path. Children (in families) thrive when they are safe, loved, and supported in their journey of healing.” In January of 2015, she became President of the organization, overseeing skilled nursing & rehabilitation communities, market rate and senior living, affordable living, home health and home care, foster care, adoption, preservation services, refugee resettlement and multiple community outreach programs. As well, she oversaw HR and IT functions as well as quality and care management for the organization. As the Vice President of Child Welfare services, Vickie integrated the continuum to include prevention, foster care, and adoption services leading the largest foster care and adoption agencies in Michigan. Using her health care experience, she launched the care management permanency model for child welfare that led to privatization of all child welfare services in a west Michigan county