Kids & Family

Kids' Country Leader Paves Way for Arts & Sciences Center

Patch readers told us who the "Everyday Inspirations" in their communities are, and we're sharing their stories and the work they've done locally.

Everyday Inspirations is a series that features people in Patch communities who inspire others through their work, or people who have faced extraordinary situations and grown from them. They have been featured by other people in the community that have been inspired by the nominees.

Name: Chris Erbe
Town: Danville, CA
Nominated by: Stacy Litteral

Why is this person an "Everyday Inspiration?" 
Chris is the Executive Director of Kids' Country, a 29-year-old nonprofit organization that serves over 1,600 children in the San Ramon Valley every day and currently employing over 170 individuals.

Since taking the position in 2008, Chris has transformed the organization to become a national leader in enrichment programming for school-aged children. The staff has been moved by his vision to create individual experiences for the children in Kids' Country's care. Truly passionate individuals who care deeply about educating young children love to work for Chris because he is constantly embracing new ideas and pushing all his staff to be constantly innovating.

Five years ago, Chris had an idea to build a community center dedicated to the arts and sciences and today Kids' Country holds the lease on an unfinished performing arts theatre at 500 La Gonda Way in Danville. The Kids' Country Center for the Arts and Sciences is scheduled to open in the spring of 2016.

The center will create endless opportunities for non-profits and performing arts groups in the local community to come together to educate the youth of the community in the areas of STEM, art, theatre, music and dance. Chris has single handedly inspired hundreds of people to think big and use every opportunity given to change a child's life.

Has the nominee's life been changed in an extraordinary way? 

I met Chris the day he came to work for Kids' Country. He immediately began to change the way that I think about work. He truly cares about the community, the work that we do and the employees of the organization. He has consistently raised the bar on what vision is.

He has pushed me to continuity be learning and growing. He helped me to apply for and be accepted to the Stanford Executive Program for Non-Profit Leaders that I attended last Summer. My colleagues have attended similar programs at Harvard and Berkeley as well. He is always looking for a way for his staff to grow themselves professionally and because of that it has been very inspiring to work for him.

I personally experienced a life changing event when my daughter was born prematurely and was very sick. Throughout the entire time, Chris supported my need to step away from work and take care of my family. I will forever be thankful for that time away. Around the same time, Chris was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had to undergo surgery and radiation. Events like these that happen to a management team simultaneously can very easily derail any organization.

However under Chris' leadership we came back and got right back on track to fulfill the ambitious vision to build the Center for the Arts and Sciences. Kids' Country was recently nominated for Charitable Organization of the Year as well as The East Bay's Best Place to Work in 2014. Both awards are well deserved because of Chris. My life has been changed forever because of Chris' leadership and mentoring and I look forward to paying it forward for many years to come.
  
How does this person work to make others' lives better?

Chris inspires the 170 staff who work at Kids' Country on a daily basis. Unfortunately, child care wages are not nearly what is deserved based on the amount of work and responsibility required to do the job very well. Chris has made it a goal of his to make sure that Kids' Country staff feel valued and appreciated as much as possible.

Through extensive training programs, meetings, retreats and employee recognition initiatives, Chris works very hard to make sure that the employees are engaged and inspired. As a result, the children in our care experience truly special relationships while at Kids' Country. The management team that reports directly to Chris is inspired by his support and the dedication he has to our mission and vision.


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