• Program Director, Health Home Care Management program, Northern Rivers
• Regional Coordinator, HCBSW, B2H, HHCM Programs (Home- and Community-Based Services Waiver, Bridges to Health, Health Home Care Management), Northern Rivers
• Individualized Care Coordinator Supervisor, HCBSW Program, Parsons, Community Services Division, Parsons

Career Highlights

• With Northern Rivers for more than 14 years, David says, “It’s home for me. I love it.”
• David sees his supervisory role as critical to offer the best program to the children they serve and to help staff do their best work with the children.
• Northern Rivers features great frontline workers, supervisors, encouragement, training, flexibility, and additional opportunities.

David R. says, “I’ve always wanted to help others. Northern Rivers has helped me to do that.” With the organization for more than 14 years, Rowley is one of the program directors for its Health Home Care Management (HHCM) program, which serves children from birth to age 21. In this role, he says, his supervisory responsibilities and his affinity for data collection and analysis make a positive difference for the children, the staff, and the program itself. When asked about the importance of his role, he says. “We ask so much of the people doing the hard work for families. We need to help them do the best work they can do.”

Just a few years after joining Northern Rivers, Rowley had the opportunity to serve on the strategic plan working committee as part of the development of Northern Rivers. That opportunity, he recounts, helped lay the foundation for his own professional growth as well as that of the organization. Along the way, he has had great supervisors, encouragement, training, and additional opportunities. In turn, he believes in helping the other employees in his program thrive and advance. For example, the managers and supervisors have been promoted from within: “There’s room here to grow,” he says.

“It’s home for me. I love it.”

In 2009, Rowley came to Parsons Child & Family Center (now part of Northern Rivers) as an ICC (individualized care coordinator) supervisor for its HCBSW (Home and Community-Based Services Waiver) program. He then became a regional coordinator for HCBSW, B2H (Bridges to Health), and HHCM before moving into his current role in 2018. Rowley, who earned his bachelor’s degree in history, political science, and secondary education, and a master’s degree in history and political science, had previously held positions as case manager, resident services coordinator, associate director, and director in community-based programs. It was natural for him to go for a supervisory role from a hands-on role as it expanded his ability to help others, he says.

For the HHCM program, which serves 1,000 children in 23 counties of New York state, Rowley supports his work with data collection and analysis to examine various aspects of the program. “It’s a challenge to see how what you’re doing impacts the hard work of front-line workers,” he notes. “It does though.” Through studying the data, he can help ensure that the care provided to children is the best possible as well as to support the best work by his staff.

Rowley says that many staff could earn a higher salary somewhere else, but Northern Rivers offers important reasons to stay: trust, job satisfaction, and flexibility. Of the last, he notes that Northern Rivers believes in offering as much flexibility as possible for staffers to balance work and challenges that arise outside work. And while he did not anticipate staying this long at Northern Rivers, he plans to stay: “It’s home for me,” he says, “I love it.”