The Board of Directors of Little Flower Children & Family Services of New York has announced that Grace Lo Grande will assume the merged responsibilities of both CEO and Executive Director, the latter of which she has held for 13 years.
 
Lo Grande is a longtime social service professional whose career has been centered on the care of children at risk.  Grace began working for Little Flower in 1996 and as executive director has been responsible for the management of all programs and services provided to nearly 2,000 people each year.  She was largely responsible for the agency's expansion to Queens from its original bases on Long Island and Brooklyn and instrumental in the development of several new programs and initiatives. 
 
Prior to her work at Little Flower, Lo Grande was Deputy Executive Director at The New York Foundling Hospital, one of New York City's largest and oldest private child welfare agencies.  She holds her Master's degree in social work from Fordham University and began her career as a social worker.
 
"Grace Lo Grande is a wonderful leader whose concern for the care of children has been evident in all she has done," said J. Keith Fell, Board President.  "Grace has a passion for her work which inspires the entire Little Flower staff.  They recognize her has a leader who has been, and continues to be, someone who has worked directly with the issues and challenges they confront every day."
 
Lo Grande takes over for Herbert W. Stupp who has stepped down from his position.  Stupp has launched a new consultancy practice specializing in government relations and Little Flower has signed on as his first client.
 
"We are grateful to Herb for his service and leadership to Little Flower during his nearly seven years as CEO," said Fell. "We are also confident that this restructuring of responsibilities will offer us the opportunity to put Herb's considerable governmental experience to work for the agency in a more targeted way."
 
"I am proud of my accomplishments as Chief Executive Officer, and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities of my new consulting role," said Stupp.   "Little Flower is well-positioned strategically to continue to grow as an agency providing the highest quality programs and services to the children, families and developmentally disabled adults in the New York City metropolitan area who need them the most."
 
During his tenure, Stupp championed the development of ElderCare Solutions, a new program for Little Flower which offers elder care counseling and referral services to employees of corporate partners.  As part of his work as Little Flower CEO, Stupp also served on the Board of Directors of COFCCA (the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies) and was appointed by the governor and the New York State Senate to the Advisory Board of the state's William B. Hoyt Memorial Children & Families Trust Fund.  Stupp is the former New York City Commissioner on Aging.