This story originally appeared in the December 2024 issue of Town&Gown magazine.
One of the many things that make the State College area worthy of the nickname “Happy Valley” is the abundance of nonprofit organizations working to meet the needs of our community.
This is a blessing not to be taken for granted. Organizations are powered by people, and social work is not always an easy field in which to work. The pay is usually less than it would be in the corporate world. Clients’ issues can be difficult and heartbreaking. Fundraising is a constant struggle.
But the work can also be incredibly fulfilling. A handful of our community’s amazing nonprofit leaders recently shared a glimpse of their work, their motivations and the challenges and rewards of a career devoted to serving our neighbors in need.
Cat Cook
Executive Director, Centre LGBT+
Cat Cook was a military wife and a stay-at-home mother to four children for over 20 years before earning a sociology degree and starting work as a program assistant for Centre LGBT+ three years ago. She “fell in love with the work,” and just one year later, she was promoted to executive director.
“My husband and I have a child in the [LGBT+] community. We’ve always been passionate about being allies and working to educate ourselves the best we can so that we can support ourselves and other people, so it just seemed like a natural fit for me,” explains Cook, who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in social work.
The ten-year-old organization provides resources and support to LGBT+ individuals, their families and allies through special events, activities, education and advocacy. In September 2023, the organization moved into a physical space of their own for the first time. Located at 204 E. Calder Way, the Centre LGBT+ office includes a welcoming lobby area with coffee and snacks, a gender-affirming closet filled with donated clothing, a library and a large multi-purpose room used for events and meetings.
“I always say I want people who come into our center to feel like they’ve been hugged and like they’ve just found their home. That’s the most important thing to me,” Cook says.
On a day-to-day basis, she says, “I wear multiple rainbow hats,” which include grant writing, leading a staff of three paid employees and a multitude of volunteers, working with an active board of directors and partnering with local businesses and organizations to support the LGBT+ community. Funding is the biggest challenge she deals with, she says.
Although Cook says State College is overall “a very queer-friendly area to live in,” it still can be difficult for LGBT+ people to feel supported and safe, and that is why the organization’s mission, “to bring the community together through LGBT+ education, advocacy and activities,” is vital.
“It just takes that one ally or positive person to really make a difference in an LGBT+ person’s life, and we have a whole team here, so that’s the thing I’m most proud of,” she says.
Curt Knouse
Executive Director, Interfaith Human Services
“Be Prepared” is the Scout motto, and you could say that growing up as a Boy Scout in Mifflin County prepared Curt Knouse for a life of service. After graduating from Bloomsburg University with a degree in economics, his first job was as a district executive for the Juniata Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Since then, his career path included stints in both the nonprofit and corporate worlds before landing him at the helm of Interfaith Human Services in 2019.
At IHS, Knouse says much of his daily work involves fundraising and community outreach. He heads up a staff of three full-time and two part-time employees and a group of dedicated volunteers. An active board of directors representing 22 faith communities works with Knouse to manage the organization’s programs and services, all in support of the IHS’s overriding mission: “To serve low-income and financially vulnerable people in Centre County through diverse programs that foster financial stability.”
Knouse says almost 30% of the people in Centre County are in or on the verge of financial crisis. IHS offers assistance mainly through short-term solutions, rather than through ongoing programs that create dependency, he says.
Knouse is particularly proud of their Representative Payee Program.
“We manage money for about 100 people each month,” he says. “These are people who are living on Social Security benefits, but due to mental health issues or intellectual disabilities, they have been deemed unable to manage their own money, so we serve as a representative payee. If they don’t have one, Social Security will not give them their benefits.”
Without such a program, many would risk financial abuse by relatives or friends, he says.
“You hear an awful lot about the elderly being financially exploited. Think about how much more vulnerable you are if you have a mental health or intellectual disability,” he says. “For most of us, it’s almost beyond belief what people will do to take advantage of other people. It makes me angry. So that program is near and dear to my heart.”
Other programs include a Fuel Bank, a Free Furniture and Appliance program and IHS’s newest program, Emergency Vehicle Repair, offering up to $500 worth of assistance for car repairs, inspections or insurance to people who need their vehicles to get to work.
Knouse says working for a cause he cares about is what keeps him motivated.
“When I was self-employed or working for-profit, I made more money, but it was pretty empty. All of the places where I’ve worked in nonprofit have been work that I’ve believed in. That’s important to me,” he says.
Cynthia Pasquinelli
CEO, Strawberry Fields Inc.
An experience with a relative’s mental health crisis has been a guiding force in Cynthia Pasquinelli’s life for over 40 years.
Her older brother’s wife, whom Pasquinelli adored as a teen, was hospitalized with post-partum depression. Pasquinelli, 18 at the time, visited her in the hospital and was shocked by her overmedicated condition.
“That experience made me feel that we really should do better than this, and if I could just help my little corner of the world, it could make a difference,” she says.
At Strawberry Fields, Pasquinelli has been helping her corner of the world for over 35 years. She started as the director of mental health services before being promoted to executive director, and now CEO.
Strawberry Fields offers a wide variety of services for people with disabilities, starting with early intervention programs for children with developmental delays from birth to age 3. They offer case management services for children and adults with emotional and mental health disorders, services for adults with autism and intellectual disabilities, residential programs and two social enterprise stores—Scraps & Skeins and Good Day Café—which employ people with disabilities.
“My interest has always been trying to create a place where people of all abilities can be seen and heard and accepted,” she says.
The biggest challenge facing Strawberry Fields is the workforce shortage they’ve been dealing with since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. The organization currently serves 800 individuals and has 180 employees, but Pasquinelli says at full strength, the organization should employ 210 people.
“The workforce crisis has really hurt us and our residential programs,” she says. In addition, “We could serve more people if we had more speech or occupational therapists.”
The need is great, she says, and she is grateful for the many hardworking staff members who do what they can to support the organization’s mission.
“The staff are our oxygen,” she says. “We need those special people working one-on-one with our folks, and it is hard work. We have people working in our group homes that are 30-year veterans of it. They’ve been doing that caretaking; that’s their gift. We just need more of them.”
Looking back over her long career, Pasquinelli says, “It’s been quite a journey, but I’m filled with a lot of gratitude when I think back on the opportunity that I was given. … I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to grow this organization.”
Jordan Veneziano
Executive Director, Out of the Cold
Out of the Cold is a low-barrier homeless shelter, accepting individuals from all backgrounds, including those with a history of mental health issues, addiction or criminal charges.
“We believe shelter is a basic human right, and we want to be able to provide that to anyone who might need that support,” explains Jordan Veneziano, who has served as executive director for the organization since 2022.
Founded in 2011, Out of the Cold relied on local churches to take in overnight guests until opening a full-service shelter on South Atherton Street in September 2023.
The shelter is open around the clock, all year long. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the day shelter is open to anyone experiencing housing or food insecurity. It offers meals, handicapped accessible showers and a laundry facility. The night shelter is open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. for 20 guests; there is a wait list for a spot.
Previously, Veneziano served as the director of Mobile Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services and Peer Support Services in Centre County.
“Mental health is one of my passions, and my background is in mental health. I was familiar with the shelter because I served individuals who utilized the shelter in the past,” she explains. “With so many people living together, natural conflict arises at times. Figuring out how to de-escalate that and mental health issues are things we deal with on a daily basis.”
As executive director, Veneziano oversees a staff of 13. She spends her days fundraising, staffing, training, educating and advocating.
“Due to the increase in homelessness in our community, I’ve been attending a ton of meetings about ways to combat that, and about the cost of living in our area,” she says.
According to Veneziano, people are often surprised to learn that 80% of Out of the Cold’s clients have a regular source of income.
“Finding an affordable place for people to rent where they can have reliable transportation for their employment is our biggest barrier at times,” she says. “Our guests work so hard, and we work so hard to help them to be in the right head space and to be ready to live independently, and then it’s super frustrating when you can’t find a place they can afford.”
Despite the challenges, Veneziano says her job is very rewarding.
“I love working with people who might not have any hope left, who are at their lowest low, and then just showing up for them every day, and seeing them make progress,” she says.
Morgan Wasikonis
Executive Director, Housing Transitions Inc.
Housing Transitions is another organization focused on helping people experiencing homelessness. It’s celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Morgan Wasikonis has been with the organization for 10 of those years.
She came on as development and community relations coordinator in 2014 and was promoted to executive director several years later. Today, she manages a staff of 22 and a complex organization that handles a multitude of housing-related services for families and individuals experiencing homelessness or near-homelessness.
The organization operates a family-friendly emergency shelter in downtown State College, provides affordable housing opportunities and rental assistance, offers case management services and supportive housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness and more.
On a day-to-day basis, she says, “The way I spend a lot of my time is going to meetings, trying to advocate for the work that we do as a whole. … I do a lot of grant writing. … A lot of what I do is trying to assess needs, and working with local government trying to figure out what our highest needs are and how to go about funding programs to fix them.”
Wasikonis says she frequently collaborates with other agencies like Out of the Cold, and they all face similar challenges, especially the lack of affordable housing.
Also, she says, “It’s really hard to break down the stigma around [homelessness], that it can happen to anybody. … People would be surprised by how much need there is here. It’s the people you see every day who are struggling—the people working in your grocery store, the support staff in your school.”
Wasikonis says her own eyes have been opened by her work at Housing Transitions.
“When I see the things that people go through, I think, ‘I’m a wimp.’ It is really hard work to overcome those barriers,” she says. “What I’ve realized is we all need supports in our lives. For most of us, it’s friends or it’s family; when we come on hard times, we have somebody to reach out to. I think being that for people that need it in our community is the most rewarding thing.” T&G
Karen Walker is a freelance writer in State College.
