“Leslie has more kindness in her little finger than most people have in their whole bodies. She will be greatly missed.”
It is with fond memories and a sad heart that we wish Leslie Ives, Senior Adult Care Manager, farewell, and good luck in the next chapter of her career! Leslie, who has been at for RISE for the past 21 years, is leaving to join our community partner, Wellspring – the domestic violence and sexual assault services resource for Saratoga County – as a Victim Advocate. She will be greatly missed by many, but we wish her well in her new position.
Leslie started with RISE in September 2000, as a part-time Administrative Assistant for the Intensive Case Management (ICM) program which was in the process of expanding into an ICM/SCM – Intensive Case Management/Supportive Case Management – program. Once the expansion was complete, Leslie began working in her position full-time. In addition to typical Admin Assistant duties, Leslie worked with clients to create budgets, helped run activity groups, and arranged or provided transportation for the clients’ community provider appointments.
“In my Admin Assistant role, I discovered I enjoyed working with individuals we serve. The case managers I worked with, including David Wurster and Larry Putnick, were all great workers and set such good examples. I found myslef secretly wanting to become a SCM,” says Leslie. In 2002, when the team was looking to hire an SCM, Leslie’s coworker Eric Sicard suggested that she apply, as she would be a great SCM. To help her realize this goal, the ICM/SCM Program Director, Sue Roberts McManus, called the Office of Mental Health (OMH) to obtain approval to qualify her as an SCM.
“Sue and Eric had checked the ‘ICM Bible.’ An associates degree was required, but it did not specify what it needed to be in. Mine was in secretarial skills so we were unsure if it qualified. Sue called Walter Ring at OMH who considered my experience both at RISE as Administrative Assistant and at the Saratoga County Mental Health Clinic – where I worked first in the file room and then for many years at the front desk – and qualified me to become a SCM.”
“Working as an SCM was wonderful, but I enjoyed working with the individuals we served and I wanted to become an ICM.”
“Working as an SCM was wonderful,” Leslie shares, “I greatly enjoyed working with the clients, helping them achieve their goals, and connecting them with providers in the community. I wanted to do more by becoming an ICM – but to do so I needed to return to school and obtain a 4-year degree.” Leslie’s best friend and previous co-worker at the Clinic, Gail Hepner, supported Leslie which gave her the courage to return to school and earn her bachelor’s in Community and Human Services. “Gail was a case manager whose mentor, Dr. Amyot, encouraged her to return to college to follow her dream of being a doctor. She did and became a Child and Youth Psychiatrist.”
“Sadly,” Leslie continues, “during the last few years of her residency, Gail was diagnosed with cancer. But even cancer did not stop her from achieving her goals. She completed her residency and began working as a doctor at South Beach Psychiatric Center on Staten Island until she became too ill to do so anymore. Gail was such a shining example. She made a huge impact on everyone whose lives she touched. It grieves me that Gail’s life was cut short when she passed away from cancer in 2009, but I will always be grateful for her friendship and for her encouragement and support of my educational and career goals.”
By the time Leslie obtained her Bachelor of Human Services degree in 2014, the ICM/SCM program had transitioned to Health Home Care Management, so instead of working as an ICM Leslie became an Adult Care Manager. “It was a difficult adjustment,” Leslie remembers. “ICM/SCM caseloads were smaller, and we were able to provide much more intensive services. As we adapted to the Health Home Care Manager model, we had to adjust our approach to manage the increased caseloads.”
“It was exciting, I was the agency’s first ever Senior Care Manager.”
Leslie adapted and grew in her positions as an Adult Care Manager. “I became an Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) Care Manager. Working with the AOT Clients felt a lot closer to doing the work we did as ICM/SCMs. I was able to reduce my caseload and provide more intensive services to the AOT clients. Later, I was promoted to and became the agency’s first ever Senior Adult Care Manager. It was exciting. It was a brand new position which included supervising other Adult Care Managers.”
Leslie touched countless lives over the years working in Care Management, which included training and supervising many Care Mangers. She coordinated with counselors from RISE housing programs and services with other providers in the community.
Leslie remembers a shining example of how well this coordination worked: “There was a young woman, living in the Supported Housing program, who had one child and was expecting another. Together the Supported Housing staff and I coordinated services to help her stabilize and obtain what was needed to be a single mom ready to have her second child. She worked very hard and achieved this goal. We also assisted her in obtaining her educational and career goals. It was such a team effort – we worked out a schedule to provide transportation to get her children to daycare and her to BOCES, where she obtained a certificate in office and computer skills. After which, she obtained a full-time job at The Saratogian newspaper. We also assisted her in obtaining her driver’s license and connected her to a program at LifeWorks that assisted working parents in purchasing a used vehicle. She was able to buy an older Honda that lasted several years. She is such a success story. She was very determined and a hard worker. During her time in the program, she even got married and then moved to another county. She continues to live very successfully today. She spoke at one of the RISE Board Retreats, and I still hear from her at times.”
“There are so many more stories of client success; but there are challenges too, housing being the biggest.”
“There are so many more stories of client success; we could be here all day,” Leslie says. “But there are challenges too, housing being the biggest. Supported Housing usually has a long wait list. Affordable housing is so limited. I am so happy that RISE is working to address this issue with the new supportive and affordable housing projects being developed. When a person’s housing is secure, they are able to focus on creating wellness in the rest of their lives. The other big challenges are transportation and helping people obtain public assistance, especially SSI, which is such a long process.”
Helping bring light to these types of challenges is one of the reasons Leslie joined the board at Saratoga County Citizens Committee for Mental Health (SCCCMH) in 2014, after being awarded the 2014 SCCCMH Citizen of the Year.
“One of the highlights of working with SCCCMH is Mental Health Matters Day,” Leslie explains. Each spring (prior to COVID-19) SCCCMH would rent a bus to bring both consumers and advocates to the Egg in Albany for the Mental Health America New York State (MHANYS) Mental Health Matters Day – which was comprised of speeches from prominent members of the mental heath community, a rally around the capital building, and meeting with the legislators themselves. “It was so powerful to watch the individuals we work with share with the legislators about these, and other pressing issues that people with psychiatric disabilities face on a daily basis.”
“Creating connectoins with other services providers is one of the things I greatly enjoyed.”
Coordinating services and creating connections with other service providers in the community is one of the things Leslie greatly enjoyed about working in Care Management. “I made so many connections with therapist, doctors, advocate and including the mental health providers at the Mental Health Clinic, PROS and SCAS. As well as the providers as Unlimited Potential and the social workers at the Department of Social Services. All the service providers in our community are so wonderful. They work so hard to help meet the needs of the vulnerable individuals we serve.” Over the years Leslie also developed many strong professional and personal relationships with her coworkers at RISE as well.
Leslie remembers coworkers with fondness and respect.
“I don’t know where to start or who to name for fear of not mentioning someone. However, there have been a few people who have made lasting impressions and for whom I will always be grateful,” Leslie shares.
“The first would have to be Sue Roberts McManus who was ICM/SCM Program Director for the first few years that I worked at RISE. She was an amazing team leader; I learned so much from her. Sue was a master’s level social worker who was very knowledgeable about mental health and how to manage the various issues the clients’ faced. With her knowledge and experience, she provided us the opportunity to learn, grow, and to provide the best services possible. She encouraged self-care, created laughter, and encourage the use of humor to help us destress.
“Rik Jordan and Matt Durham have been with RISE as long as I have. We’ve developed strong and lasting friendship over the past 21 years. We all worked over in the off-site office on Van Dam back in the day. Matt ran the MICA Program and Rik was the Youth SCM. We shared so many clients over the years, turned to each other for support, and bonded over shared challenges and success. Rik later became the Supported Housing Program Director and built up a strong team.
“I worked so closely with all of them over the years – the current Program Director, John Shoemaker, Amy Perkins, Lehra Inglis, and Mike LaBelle. They are all so dedicated and committed to providing care for the residents. Others who I have a similar respect for and have enjoyed working with over the years include the Community Residences Program Directors – Jackie Knowles, Dawn Daum, and Ian Vonie. The PSAP staff has changed throughout the years, but Vita Nemeyer, PSAP Program Supervisor, and I have also shared many clients together and worked well together to provide support for those we served.
“Someone who had a huge impact on me and how I am as a worker was Laurie Nelson, who was the Deputy Director for several years. She just had a way of making everyone feel so important. Laurie was so genuine and caring. She took the time to know all the residents in our programs and kept abreast of what was happening with them. If any staff were experiencing a crisis, whether it be with one of the clients or in our personal life, she would make it a point to come and offer her support in person.
“The whole Care Management Team – there have been so many good workers over the years.”
“The whole Care Management Team – there have been so many good workers over the years. It has always been so wonderful to have such a strong team to turn to.
“We spend so much of the day out in the field working on our own, so it was comforting knowing we have a great team to back us up if needed and that at the end of the day we had them to turn to for support, run ideas by, share resources, and to laugh and cry with.
Elizabeth Stockwell-Wheeler, a previous Care Manager Program Director, was someone who I really looked up to. She was a strong leader – which we needed back when we began to figure out how to provide services under the Health Home Care Management model. She provided great supervision to the team using both her education, a Master of Social Work, and her previous experience to lead and guide the team through those changing times.
“The Care Management Team has been a close-knit team over the years and has done amazing work to assist the clients we have served. Although this field and the team itself is constantly evolving, Care Management continues to move forward with the changing times and finds creative ways to assist people in need. I am sure the current Program Director, Erika Straight, and Program Supervisor, Sam Macio, will continue to grow the Care Management program and support the team moving forward to be as successful as possible.
“Of course, I have to mention Sybil Newell. The agency has grown so much and moved in such a positive direction since she became the Executive Director. She has done a fantastic job; she is future forward and has such great vision. She is so willing to implement new initiatives and take the agency as a whole to new heights. I love that she started the Lunch with Admin video call; it is great to be kept so informed. And I appreciate all the extra perks she has provided to the staff – wellness time, mental health days, more holidays. It helps when we work in a field that does not have great financial rewards to receive these extra benefits to make us feel appreciated.
“There are so many I’ve developed friendships with over the years.”
“There are so many I’ve developed friendships with over the years, several of whom no longer work with us, but to name a few who still do – I’ll start with my AOT partner and office mate for the past three years, Liz Mcfarren.
“Liz is the sweetest, most dedicated, and hardworking person ever. She cares so much about the people we serve. She is a great role model and has made me a better Care Manager. Her style helped me to become more organized and she is a wonderful friend. She was a great team partner, providing so much support throughout my personal crisis when I lost my home in a fire. I will greatly miss her as she has been such a blessing to work with through the ups and downs, and all the joys and sorrows of doing this difficult work.
“Some of the others that I feel especially close to includes Sam Macio, who I worked with in AOT Care Management before Liz. She genuinely cares about the people we work with. Melodie Masterson, is another. She joined SCCCMH right after I did and together, we planned the Mental Health Matters Benefit each year. She always made a point to make lunch dates with me every month or so over the past 10 years she has been at RISE.
“And then there is my ‘work daughter’ Ashely Mulvaney. I was tickled when she started calling me her ‘work mom.’ She does a fantastic job of keeping all our clients’ – for whom RISE is the Rep Payee – funds in order. She is so sweet and a great friend.”
Leslie’s coworkers at RISE share similar feelings toward her.
Leslie’s coworkers at RISE share similar feelings toward her and shared the following thoughts about Leslie and the work she has done over the years.
Liz Mcfarren – “Leslie has more kindness in her little finger than most people have in their whole bodies. I am so thankful that I got to work with Leslie these last three years. I have learned and grown so much in my position, thanks to her mentoring and support. Leslie will be greatly missed, and Wellspring is so lucky to get the opportunity to work with her.”
Rik Jordan – “Leslie cares about those we serve as much as anyone I’ve met working in this community.”
Matt Durham – “Leslie is an exceptional Care Manager. She has always been reliable and has provided excellent services to the PSAP Residents in her care.”
Sam Macio – “Leslie has been a strong influence on my professional career. Her work ethic inspires me to be my best every day. I look forward to keeping in touch and seeing the amazing work she does in her new adventure.”
Melodie Masterson – “Leslie is a great friend and a very dedicated and caring person. She brings light and joy to everyone she meets. I’ve enjoyed collaborating with her over our shared clients throughout the years.”
Jackie Knowles – “Leslie is an example of an excellent Care Manager. She has always been very responsive and reliable. She knows everything about her client’s cases and never missed a beat. We will miss her here at Rain House.”
Ashley Mulvaney – “Leslie has been a phenomenal mentor and friend over the years. She has not only been supportive of any of my changes within our agency but also one of my biggest cheerleaders and friend. Leslie will be greatly missed not only by her coworkers but especially by her clients who she has served over the last 21 years with compassion, understanding and grace. Good luck on your new adventure, you will do amazing things and they are so lucky to have you and we will miss you so much here at RISE.”
Leslie’s family has supported her education and career throughout the years.
Leslie’s family has supported her education and career throughout the years. Leslie has been married to her wonderful husband, Dan, for 36 years. She has two adult children – a son and a daughter – 4 grandchildren, 5 dogs, and a large extended family, most of whom live in the area. Her sister Debbie is the furthest away in Colorado but has always supported Leslie from afar.
Leslie is blessed to have her father, and both her mother and step-father – Bill, who was a case manager for RISE for many years – still living in the Saratoga Community. They played a huge role in Leslie’s return to college and very supportive of her career. Leslie and her family are close knit and spend much time together. In the summers they like to go to Eastham, Cape Cod and enjoy swimming, spending time at the beach, attending Cape Cod Baseball League games, and playing mini golf. Together she and Dan enjoy going to concerts, kayaking, camping, gardening, BBQs at home, and swimming in their pool, especially with the grandkids.
Leslie has had a stellar career at RISE and will be greatly missed.
Leslie has had a stellar career at RISE and she will be greatly missed. She has been a great asset to our agency and to the Care Management team. We are grateful for all her years of service and for all the lives she has touched over the years. We wish her well and much success as she moves into this next chapter of her career.