Staff

Frederick J. Ferrer

Frederick J. Ferrer has over four decades of leadership in mobilizing communities and staff toward change through groundbreaking nonprofit and public policy initiatives, programs and systems reforms. Prior to becoming CEO of Child Advocates, Ferrer founded and led Manzanita Solutions, where he provided consultation on public health, early childhood, non-profit management, and systems reform. Before that, he served for nine years as CEO at The Health Trust, a $100 million foundation, which provides health services (HIV, Meals of Wheels, Chronic Disease Self Management, & Oral Health), grants, and drives policy to improve community health. Frederick is the former Executive Director of Estrella Family Services and was chair of the FIRST 5 Santa Clara County Commission. As CEO of Child Advocates, he has led reforms in program offerings connecting CASAs and youth to numerous community partners’ facilities and offerings. He has designed and implemented an outcomes approach to measuring the effectiveness of the CASA program. He has implemented major reforms in recruitment, training and staff development and wellness. He is currently designing a first of its kind, Center for Advocacy and Enrichment for CASAs and their youth to experience positive childhood experiences to ameliorate the effects of trauma. Ferrer chaired Santa Clara University’s Presidential Blue Ribbon Commission on Diversity and Inclusion. He is the former chair of the Rocketship Public Schools board and was a member of the Children’s Discovery Museum LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. He recently chaired the City of San Jose’s Charter Review Commission. He is a member and immediate past chair of Santa Clara University’s (SCU) College of Arts and Sciences Leadership Advisory Board. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of SV Creates. He is a SCU Dean’s Executive Professor of Leadership. Throughout his career, Frederick has received numerous awards including: ALF-SV’s John Gardner Leadership Award, the Santa Clara County Human Relations Commission’s Human Relations Award, and PACT’s Community Builder Award. He was an instructor in Santa Clara County Office of Education’s Special Education EPIC program. For over 30 years, he served as adjunct child development faculty at De Anza College. He has completed two distinguished programs at Harvard University: The Performance Measurement for Effective Management of Nonprofit Organizations, and Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management. He also completed the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Dr. Ferrer holds a B.S. degree from Santa Clara University, a M.S. degree from San Jose State University, and an honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Santa Clara University.