SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Bethany J. Creaser is the new executive director of the Early Childhood Alliance (ECA) Onondaga, the executive committee of ECA announced.
Creaser most recently served as the Clinical, Family, and Peer Support Services Program officer for Catholic Charities of Onondaga County. She provided programmatic and fiscal oversight for a department offering mental health, peer support, parent education, and child welfare/prevention programs. Before that, she served as the organization’s Parent Education Program manager, overseeing the Lullaby League, Incredible Years, and Let’s Go to Kindergarten programs, as well as the Parent Aide Program’s home visiting curriculum.
In her new role, Creaser will work with partners and ECA staff to develop and advance a multi-year strategy focused on improving the early childhood system in Onondaga County. She will oversee a multi-million dollar budget supporting multiple priority initiatives, engage in state and national policy conversations, and facilitate numerous stakeholder networks.
A lifelong Syracuse resident, Creaser has a deep understanding of the many challenges that the community’s children and families face, from health care and education to childcare and financial security, the ECA said in a news release. “Throughout her career, she has established herself as a tireless, dedicated leader who is unwavering in her commitment to Onondaga County’s youngest residents.”
Meg O’Connell, chair of the ECA’s executive committee and executive director of the Allyn Family Foundation, added that Creaser “brings a wealth of experience, energy, and passion for the mission that will serve the coalition well through its next phase of growth and development.”
The previous and first-ever executive director of ECA was Laurie Black, who served in that position for seven years before stepping down last Oct. 31, Emily F. Dillon, ECA director of communications tells CNYBJ.
Dillon, in a statement last October after Black announced her planned departure, called Black an “exceptional founder and leader.” She added that Black’s “passion, dedication, and commitment to children and families has been instrumental in building a strong coalition of partners and providers working collaboratively to improve the early childhood system in Onondaga County. Under Laurie’s leadership, the ECA has become a national model for cross-sector partnerships.”
Black now works as community education director at the United Way of Central New York.
The Early Childhood Alliance was launched in Onondaga County in 2015 and is comprised of stakeholders from all levels of the early childhood system, including health, early learning, and family supports. The ECA (ecaonondaga.org) oversees a coordinated strategy to create an integrated local system of early childhood care and family support services.
