A Farewell and a Welcome: Leadership Change in Outreach

Outgoing outreach director, Steph Otter (née Stucker), welcoming incoming clinical outreach director, Stacey Henson, LCSW, ACSW.

My role as outreach director has been to lift up the voices of others – sharing stories, making connections, and helping people find their way to Gould Farm. And as I prepare to step away from this role, I find the most fitting way to mark this moment is to speak from my heart.

When I stepped into this role, it marked Gould Farm’s first investment in a full-time outreach director—an investment not just in staffing, but in vision. Leadership recognized that fostering ongoing connections with the broader mental health community was essential—not only for admissions, but to enliven our organizational voice and honor our legacy. In today’s crowded treatment landscape, people need to know we’re here—and how to find us. Having a full-time staff member devoted to this work has allowed us to show up consistently-- to listen, to share, to build bridges -- and to help people understand what Gould Farm is and feel invited in. Outreach, at its best, is not just about visibility; it’s about belonging.

In my time in the role, I drew on my background in communications and outreach roles at other organizations, but also on something more personal: this place has been part of my life since childhood. My early memories growing up on the Farm are steeped in sugaring season sweetness, winter woodsmoke, and family-style meals in Main House. I’ve returned many times—as a summer volunteer, young mother, and eventually, outreach director— drawn by the same question for many years: What exactly is Gould Farm?

“Gould Farm is a poem,” I reflected during a recent moment of free-writing. “It becomes what you need it to be, it speaks to what you need to hear – a place to catch your breath, a place of reckoning, a home. Gould Farm is also a crossroads – alive and thick with movement, shaped by those who pass through. There are abundant opportunities to share yourself, to be provoked and stretched, and to see things in a new way. As I step out of my role in this community, I feel grateful to have been shaped by the holy chaos of this place.”

I still don’t have a tidy answer to what Gould Farm is -- a social movement, a residential treatment program, an intentional community? Maybe all of the above. But one of the quiet joys of this role has been listening to others answer that question for themselves.

That story continues to unfold, and I’m heartened knowing it will be carried forward with care and vision. It’s with great joy that I welcome Stacey Henson, Gould Farm’s new clinical outreach director.

Stacey brings over 25 years of experience in behavioral health and a career deeply rooted in both clinical care and program leadership. She’s a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with a remarkable blend of direct service and systems-level impact, including work with veterans, the development of PTSD treatment protocols, and management of adult outpatient services.

For over a decade, Stacey has led at the intersection of outreach, admissions, and clinical strategy. Most recently, she contributed to national outreach efforts at WestBridge and Sheppard Pratt, where she forged meaningful relationships with providers across the country while ensuring individuals found the right path to care.

Throughout her work, Stacey has consistently blended evidence-based practice with heartfelt connection. She leads with both skill and soul.

What excites me deeply is that the outreach role will continue to evolve under Stacey’s leadership, with her unique skill set. She’ll work more closely with our admissions team, bringing a practiced clinical lens to the outreach work, while continuing to build the trusted relationships that connect Gould Farm to the broader field.

Please join me in welcoming Stacey. Reach out to her, introduce yourself, and share your stories of the Farm. You can reach her at shenson@gouldfarm.org and connect with her on LinkedIn.