This is a special message from Jody Levison-Johnson, COA President & CEO.

For many of us, the start of a new year (or new decade, in this case) provides an opportunity to take a step back to reflect, and for some, to project. What were the pivotal milestones last year? What did we learn? What could we be doing more of? Less of? In what direction are we heading? These are particularly salient for me this year. In March of 2019, I assumed the helm of the Council on Accreditation, and in 2020, we are launching some important refinements to our standards and processes, our look, and our approach.

One of the more profound steps COA took in 2019 was to establish a new mission statement. We believe that our new mission more accurately captures the future direction of our sector. It also conveys our intention for our organization within the sector. At COA, we partner with human and social service organizations to strengthen their ability to improve the lives of the people they serve. As an independent accreditor, we recognize the importance of an objective assessment of human and social service organizations’ performance across an array of best practice standards. And as an independent accreditor committed to improving communities and the lives of those living in them, we recognize the importance of partnering with the field to establish, maintain, and ensure adherence to these standards. It is through this partnership that we remain relevant, ensure rigor, and support our sector in achieving results.

As we look forward into 2020, there are important challenges before not only COA, but also all of us in the field. We need to continue to explore ways to demonstrate our impact on those we are supporting. While randomized controlled clinical trials are not in the cards for many of us, careful attention to outcomes–not just outputs–are a necessity. We need to be able to clearly articulate what our efforts accomplish and how we support improvements in the lives of those we work with. Then we need to demonstrate that simply and concisely—and in ways that are meaningful to a variety of audiences.

We also need to be thinking about our financial viability. As mission-driven organizations, we are committed to the greater good. Our ability to deliver on that commitment requires us to be good financial stewards. While some struggle with the idea of adopting a business orientation as it is viewed as somehow eroding our “mission driven-ness,” we need to see the business mindset as a core pillar of our ability to deliver on mission. Continued efforts to educate our communities on what it takes to deliver the quality and caliber of our services is essential. As Brené Brown says, “Clear is kind.” We need to clearly articulate what it takes to do our work well, and to seek supporters who allow us to deliver.

We also need to continue to elevate our visibility as human and social service organizations within our communities. We need to ensure that we have demonstrated not only how critical our services are, but also how crucial our role of “partner” is in the places we work. We know our communities’ needs; we employ our communities’ residents; we are consumers in our communities’ businesses. We are an integral part of the fabric of our communities. We are not simply service providers. We are mission-driven, civic-minded members of communities who make ongoing valuable contributions each and every day.

Moving into 2020, COA is excited to partner with each of you and the broader human and social service sector to advance these ideas and strengthen organizations and the people they serve. We will be seeking new and different ways that allow us to achieve our mission and, as always, are open to your ideas about how to accomplish this. We look forward to the year ahead and to working with all of you to ensure that your organizations, those served by them, and the communities you operate in are enriched in ongoing and meaningful ways.

Jody Levison-Johnson

Did you know? In our more than forty-year history, the Council on Accreditation (COA) has only had three logos—the most recent being the COA shield that launched in 2012 (which was an adaptation of a 2002 version). So, we thought with all the excitement surrounding our 2020 Edition standards, coupled with welcoming our new president and CEO, that the time was right to give our branding a refresh.

It was not something that we took lightly and many, many months of planning and design went into getting it just right. We wanted to make sure that we were remaining true to our roots, but elevating the look and feel to be more fresh, modern, and meaningful.

Welcome to the new COA!

Behind the logo

The logo focused on two key areas: the mark and the color palette.

The mark is now a more abstract symbol, shifting the focus from us and refocusing priority on the work and the organizations we support. If you look closely, you will notice that the ribbon—a symbol of achievement and excellence—is comprised of the letters C-O-A. This is meant to evoke feelings of pride and is open to individual interpretation. Some see a doorway or hallway, signaling a journey, process, or movement—much like our accreditation process itself.

Color your world

We utilized color theory to help us find the perfect palette that would not only be pleasing to the eye, but also rich in meaning and emotion. We landed on a light blue to purple gradient, which adds excitement and a sense of modernity…but there is so much more to it. Purple, a non-dominant color, signifies mastery and excellence, but also compassion. Blue evokes feelings of trustworthiness, wisdom, serenity, peace, and security. Combined, they perfectly convey our mission and purpose, while representing strong ties to our founding organizations and service areas.

Engage. Empower. Evolve.

We have also, for the first time, incorporated a tagline into the mix: Engage. Empower. Evolve. This tagline is a nod to our past while looking towards the future.

Engaging organizations as partners is a fundamental part of our DNA. We empower organizations to be efficient and effective so they can provide best-in-class services to the clients and communities they serve. Accreditation is also not a final destination or an end to a means. It’s an evolution. We continually push organizations to evolve and improve.

So, when you put it all together, the tagline truly speaks to our approach to organizational accreditation. Not to mention alliterations are fun!

Extra, extra! New credentialing seal

We realize achieving accreditation isn’t easy—it’s a true accomplishment. We wanted to give organizations a way to signal that they are COA accredited and show off their hard work and commitment to excellence. That is why we developed a special credentialing seal for accredited organizations use as a beacon of their accomplishment (rather than just using our logo).

The seal can be used across all organizational collateral (business cards, letterhead, e-mail signatures, etc.). Accredited organizations interested in learning more about acceptable use can request our new promotional toolkit, which we’ll link to on the launch of our new website.

Thank you

Thank you for being part of the COA community. We hope you are as excited by our new look as we are! Please excuse any materials with our previous logo that you might come upon as we work on getting everything switched over; we are working hard to get the updates your way.

Should you have any questions regarding the use of the seal or COA logo, please do not hesitate to reach out to Kelsey Risbrudt at krisbrudt@coanet.org.

Watch a special message from Jody Levison-Johnson, COA’s new President & CEO, and then read on below to hear more about her thoughts on what’s next for COA.

TRANSCRIPT

Hi.  I’m Jody Levison-Johnson, the new president and CEO of the Council on Accreditation, or as some in the field like to call us, “COA (Kō-Ah).”  I wanted to take a few moments to introduce myself and share a bit about the future of COA.

My background includes work in direct service organizations, oversight and funding entities, and national policy and advocacy arenas. Leading COA is the realization of my lifelong dream to shape the human services field and profoundly impact the lives of the people in need. 

And the timing of my arrival here could not have been better.

This is truly an exciting time at COA. We are changing the field by helping organizations offer services of the highest possible quality to their clients and their communities.

For a long time and for many people, accreditation has just been another box to check, a means to an end to ensure eligibility for funding streams or to meet regulatory requirements. But it is so much more than that. 

We hope to elevate–both within COA and among our accredited organizations–the true value of accreditation. That value is to the end user, the consumers—the children, youth, families and adults–who rely on the services that our organizations provide.

Our mission is simple: To help organizations improve the quality and effectiveness of their services by aligning with the best practices established in our standards.

Throughout our more than forty-year history, COA has regularly evolved both our standards and processes to meet the changing needs of the field.  This evolution will continue as we move towards 2020. Look for more details on that in the coming months—we have some exciting updates just around the corner.

While we continue to evolve as an organization, one thing remains constant: COA’s unwavering dedication to supporting you so that you can best support your community and those that you serve.

Thanks to each and every one of you. We are so grateful for the work that you do every day on behalf of COA and the communities that you serve.  Here’s to continued collaboration and success.

Notes from Jody

As I approach the six month mark at COA, I can confidently say that my excitement for our work has never been greater. I tease it a little in this video but want to encourage you again to keep an eye out for messages from us in the coming months—there is a lot to share, and I truly believe it will be valuable for you and your organizations.

Engagement with the broader human services community is the foundation of COA, from the critical input we get on our standards, to our peer-based review system, to the important partnerships with our sponsoring and supporting organizations, funders, and regulators. I have spent the last few months visiting with some of the COA community to learn how we can better support you and your important work. These meetings have provided me with an opportunity to hear about the profound impact COA is making on the field, and ultimately on those being served by our accredited organizations. Each meeting has also provided food for thought on areas for development–things COA can consider doing to continue to increase the value of our work.

That is our goal with the coming updates: to continue to make accreditation as valuable for our organizations and impactful for our communities as it can be. As always, we want to provide you with a framework that serves you so that you can best serve your communities. Because community is such an important part of COA, it is my hope that you will continue to work with us through this process, giving us feedback so that together, we can drive the field forward.

A big thank you to those who have met with me already and shared your thoughts–it has been invaluable. I hope to continue to keep in touch and look forward to meeting more of you in the future.

I am grateful to lead an organization with such a dynamic, diverse, and passionate staff, a robust team of talented and dedicated volunteers, and a versatile array of accredited organizations – all of whose commitment to quality is unwavering.

Here’s to what’s next.