Meet Parsons – Leadership Coshocton County Class of 2022
Sara Parsons spent her early years in Akron, before her family moved to southern Monroe County, in the small town of Rinard Mills. She attended Monroe Central High School in Woodsfield, where she graduated in 1997.
Following graduation from high school, Parsons started a family, and remained a stay-at-home mom until 2009 when she started on an Associates in Psychology from the University of Phoenix. Always seeking more, she then began work toward her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Walden University while working at the Mohican Youth Academy in Perrysville, a private residential treatment facility for troubled youth. She then transitioned to Richland County Children’s Services as an intake case worker and began learning more about the field of trauma informed care. What she was experiencing at work led her to complete her Master’s thesis in trauma informed care, earning a Masters from Capella University in Psychology with a specialization in child and adolescent development. During the completion of her master’s, Parsons worked for the Village Network in Wooster, a behavioral health organization before accepting the position of social service director for the Salvation Army of Ashland County. Always seeking more opportunities to serve youth, Parsons learned of an opening in Coshocton County where she thought her experience and passion would be an asset.
Parsons began with Coshocton County Head Start in 2017 as the enrollment, recruitment, selection, attendance and eligibility (ERSAE) manager as well as family community partnership (FCP) manager. Both roles have Parsons out in the community; whether at a home-visit to a prospective student or partnering with community groups such as the Fatherhood Initiative. Parsons finds the “outreach approach” works well stating, “The greatest thing is seeing people be successful; helping the parent be successful through the process.” She provides a myriad of resources, whether on child development or with seeking jobs or resume writing – which is where the community partnerships are key to success. She said, “I have seen families transition to success. They seed the Coshocton community.” She enjoys watching “people grow and be successful.”
Parsons decided to participate in Leadership Coshocton because she “didn’t know a lot about Coshocton and wanted to learn and network with people.” She said, “That has definitely been accomplished. The knowledge gained and leadership is astonishing. It puts things in perspective; allows you to understand this is a different type of community. Very down-to-earth; open-minded; forward-thinking and looking for ways to grow.”
Parsons views the community as “very open; with good traditional morals and values.” She appreciates that growth and expansion are welcome in the community and there is an emphasis to “promote and develop from within homegrown leaders” and that it is “supportive of young leaders in the community.”
To make the county stronger, Parsons would like to see “community agencies support one another to eliminate duplication of services” through “more sharing of information agency-to-agency.”
Parsons would “definitely” recommend Leadership Coshocton for others stating, “any individual in leadership or management position” would benefit, as a means to “learn the foundation of and history of Coshocton; learn who the business owners are in the community; and to grow and network within the community.”
She adds, “There will always be a place in my heart for Coshocton. Something special about it; down-to-earth; welcoming and inviting.”
Category: People & Places
