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Kathleen Deschenes. For over 30 years, Kathleen has had a passion for helping people who are homeless, struggling with behavioral health and substance use disorders and those returning to the community from incarceration.

Kathleen received her MSW from NYU and began her career in New York City working on homeless outreach teams, in shelters and on inpatient psychiatric units at Bellevue and Beth Israel hospitals. She then transitioned to residential services working for Urban Pathways and The Postgraduate Center for Mental Health.

In 1998, Kathleen moved to CT and became the Executive Director for Interlude, Inc., an organization serving individuals with chronic and severe mental illness in residential and outreach programs. In 2012, Kathleen merged Interlude with Ability Beyond. She assumed a leadership position overseeing the Interlude programs as well as services for individuals with developmental disabilities and brain injuries. She was also the Director of Quality Assurance for Ability Beyond.

In 2016, Kathleen became the Chief Operating Officer for Gilead Community Services. In 2017, she became the CEO for CT Renaissance, an organization that had provided behavioral health and criminal justice services to adolescents and adults since 1967. CT Renaissance’s outpatient clinics, and residential and community programs operate throughout the Waterbury, Bridgeport, Norwalk, Stamford, and New Haven regions.

Throughout her career, Kathleen has also been a field instructor for social work interns from NYU, Columbia, Fordham and Western CT and Southern CT State Universities. She has enjoyed teaching students and is proud to be a Social Worker.