The national Community Action Partnership will present Ted Edlich, former CEO of TAP (Total Action for Progress) with the 2015 Robert M. Coard Innovation Award at their annual conference in San Francisco, California recently.
The Award is named after Robert (Bob) Coard, the long-time, visionary President and CEO of Boston ABCD, the Community Action Agency in Boston, MA.
Edlich joined TAP in 1968, serving as Head Start Director, moving later into then the Director of Community Organization, then Director of Training. In 1975, Edlich was selected as the President of TAP. He retired as CEO on January 31, 2015 and continues to work as a consultant, speaker, and writer.
Edlich served on Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder’s Poverty Commission and Governor Gilmore’s Commission on Child and Mental Health. He has been an instructor and guest lecturer at several universities and colleges, including University of Virginia, University of West Virginia, and others in the region. He has held more than a dozen leadership positions in national, regional, state and local organizations.
Edlich has also published several articles on community development and is in the process of completing a book entitled: “Navigating the Nonprofit Rapids: Strategies and Tactics for Running a Nonprofit Company,” which will be published in spring, 2016.
Under Edlich’s leadership, TAP and its many innovative programs, have been recognized by social advocacy organizations, news programs and magazines such as Ebony and National Geographic.
Some of TAP’s programs include Project Discovery a statewide college access program for minority and low-income students, CHIP, a statewide primary care program for children, Transition Living Center for the homeless, Dumas Center for Artistic Development – the conversion of a historic black hotel into a modern theater housing the Roanoke Children’s Theater, and “This Valley Works,” a workforce development center for youth and adults featuring programs that include Youth Build, GED preparation, and Center for Employment and Training.
Even though he is “retired,” Edlich’s passion for Community Action remains evident: “Ours is more than a job. It is a sacred calling. I’m forever amazed at the incredible work done by my Community Action colleagues across this country. My only regret is that I do not have another forty years to learn from all of them ways to enrich the work of the agency I dearly love.”
Congratulations to Ted Edlich on receiving the 2015 Robert M. Coard Innovation Award. His superb contributions to Community Action for close to fifty years has truly earned him the honor.
