By Kathy Chouteau
Dr. Carole Dorham-Kelly has been appointed president and CEO of Rubicon Programs, a Richmond-based nonprofit with an almost 50-year history focusing on workforce development and promoting economic mobility in the East Bay. She previously served as Rubicon’s chief program officer and also as a leader in wellness services. Dorham-Kelly takes over for Jane Fischberg, who held the role since 2009 and started with Rubicon in 1997.
A Richmond native raised by a single mom, Dorham-Kelly grew up in central and North Richmond and fondly recalls her invaluable lifetime connections cultivated from her time participating in Richmond Steelers Youth Football & Cheerleading, Lucky Lanes Bowling Alley youth leagues and as an active youth member of Mt. Zion MBC. She earned her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Oregon and is deeply committed to reducing mental health stigmas and improving overall wellness in families and communities of color.
Dorham-Kelly was drawn to Rubicon for its “whole-person, wellness-centered approach to economic mobility” per a statement from the organization, and strongly believes “that people are inherently good” and more valuable than the sum of their mistakes or circumstances.
The new president & CEO of Rubicon Programs begins her role firm in her conviction that intergenerational poverty can’t be stopped via one service alone. As such, Rubicon Programs offers East Bay residents up to three years of holistic workforce services aimed at connecting them to economic opportunity and mobility, per the organization. In terms of employment and training opportunities, they also offer coaching, legal services and opportunities spanning the areas of income, assets, wellness, and connections.
To learn more about Rubicon Programs, click here.
