I had the pleasure of working with Karinda at Contact Community Services, and in my 35 years of experience in this community with the media, non-profits and now Syracuse University, I have never met a leader who cared more about her mission and the people she asks to carry it out. Her success has been built on impeccable integrity and character, and she strives to do the right thing in every aspect of her life.

Every leader says they want to help their employees grow and advance. But Karinda means it, and by identifying talented people and giving them an opportunity to succeed, Karinda strengthens the organization she leads. Through this approach, she wisely surrounds herself with people who are as dedicated as her to meeting the mission of their organization.

-Matthew Michael, Communications Manager
Falk College, Office of the Dean

Karinda is a leader who I have had the good fortune of working for, and have sought to work with, again. She is a woman of great vision and values. She adapts her vision to the location and population of her work. Her vision is strong and clear, but welcoming, to other voices, other ideas and new information; all necessary to run any team successfully. I would climb any mountain for Karinda, not just because she asked me, but because I know she’d be at the top waiting for me. She wouldn’t just be at the top waiting, she’d be at the top providing encouraging words, helpful strategies to climb more effectively, and with her care and guidance, see me be as successful as she had been, on the climb. She doesn’t just talk-the-talk, she has walked-the-walk; leading and guiding with empathy in her journey toward bettering the lives of these young people.

Her strength is leadership and advocacy for those she leads. Another of the pillars of Karinda’s leadership is her nurturing passion. Not only her passion to nurture those who are fortunate to call her a colleague, but her leadership to nurture the passions of her colleagues, through mentorship, guidance and constant encouragement. When she sees skills in those with whom she works; she nurtures and develops them. She helps to provide opportunities to use those skills, to better the team. Her passion and leadership are infectious and provide a safe space for passions to be expressed, and with her unwavering support, pursued.

-Matthew Biss, Employment and College and Career Specialist II

Karinda and I have worked together in the capacity of her leadership and professional development. I have had the honor of being her Executive Coach. Karinda has been an exceptional participant in Emergent’s LeadFORWARD leadership development program. I have both coached Karinda and had the pleasure of being a co-facilitator and trainer in the program with Karinda.

Karinda’s dedication to her own growth and development is impressive. She has a passion for the continual improvement of her own capabilities as a leader as well as developing others, her organization and the communities in which she lives and works.

Karinda has many talents. She is a proven program developer taking creative approaches to her work and relationships. I have been honored to coach Karinda and I know whatever she pursues in life, she will excel.

-Bill Berthel, Emergent Leader Coach

I have known Karinda a little over 8 years and throughout those 8 years, Karinda has been a mentor, leader, coach and inspiration to me. Working with Karinda, she has not only shown her adaptability to many situations and cultures, but she has shown she is a very kind, patient and dedicated person. She sets her standards high and always achieves and exceeds those expectations.

Once Karinda has a vision, she not only follows through with the work required to meet that vision but also asks for input from colleagues to ensure those part of the team feel included to execute the task at hand. Team work is an essential part of Karinda’s core values.

Karinda’s leadership is top notch. She truly cares about her employees and their wellbeing. She goes out of her way to make sure staff feel valued and appreciated. Her staff feel validated and heard when speaking to her. She responds to situations instead of reacts. She is more of a leader and a coach than a boss. Karinda pushed me when I thought I couldn’t be pushed anymore because she saw something in me that I didn’t originally see in myself. She is someone who can see the full potential in those around her, and pushes them to that point where they become successful in their mission.

Karinda is known for her values, trust, dedication and determination to accomplish goals. Her drive for success is evident. She is an inspiration to all!

-Heather Hunter, Director of Early Education Services
Elmcrest Children’s Center

Karinda Shanes changed my life. In 2017, I sought a part-time, temporary summer job providing youth development support for elementary students with Contact Community Services. My goal, at the time, was simple. I wanted to secure a summer job. Never, in my greatest of imaginations could I have known that doing so would put me on a direct path to a career grounded in providing community support to address the public health crisis of the impact suicide has on our youth.

At the time, Karinda Shanes was serving as Director of Youth Development Services for Contact Community Services. In the process of immersing myself into my role as a Program Aide, I was given the opportunity to support the social/emotional and academic success of the students enrolled in the program. I was amazed at what a valuable service Contact was providing for the families we serve. Karinda had established a work culture that valued work ethic in an employee-center environment that recognized and rewarded character traits that honor integrity at the core.

In my prior work experiences, I not only felt undervalued; however, also, I felt unseen and was left with a sense of having no voice. Karinda, as well as our Contact Family, with thanks to the family atmosphere work environment that Karinda promoted, recognized my ability and interest to learn more, do more and become more. It was shortly after that Karinda and her team presented me with a permanent, full-time position welcoming me into that family.

Part of being a member of that family involved continuously receiving professional development, trainings, education and opportunities to further streamline the scope of our services into the community. As I approach my sixth year with Contact, I now am in the role of a Mental Health Educator having piloted a Suicide Safety in Schools programming. Although Karinda's outreach to the community continued to expand beyond the scope of Contact Community Services, the lasting impression her leadership, determination and love of learning has impacted me with remains as constant to this day as it did then. Had I just been viewed as another number or employee, my ability to support youth who are in crisis would not at all be possible had it not been for Karinda Shanes and for that I am eternally grateful.

-William DeSantis, Contact Community Services
Mental Health Educator - Fayetteville Manlius School District

I worked closely with Karinda Shanes from 2016-2019 while I was the interim Assistant Superintendent at Liverpool Schools.  Karinda led a team of dedicated professionals at Contact Community Services that were essentially responsible for our District being awarded the 21st Century CCLC Grant.  Together, our two organizations wrote the application and administered the program that provided summer AND school-year learning and enrichment programs for over 600 elementary students in four schools. Simply put, we could not have partnered with a more prepared and professional team (with Karinda Shanes as their leader).   

Most outstanding about Karinda is her strong sense of dedication to students and to the continuous improvement of those professionals with whom she works.  At the heart of this grant (and Karinda’s work with the LCSD) was the prevention of summer learning loss and providing for meaningful and structured reinforcement of student learning during the school year.  Karinda and her team never minded late-night phone calls or spontaneously called meetings to address and resolve issues.  When needed, they happily put in the extra time to make sure that every aspect of the program was running smoothly. Karinda’s involvement, and her character, allowed individuals involved to benefit from her experiences, the training opportunities she put in place, and dedication to our students.  Her leadership and participation in the opportunities provided by the grant paid multiple dividends for the students and staff at the Liverpool School District.

-Steven Garraffo, Director of Bridge to CBA Brothers
Christian Brothers Academy

Approximately twenty-five years ago, I met Karinda when she came to work at Catholic Charities as a youth coordinator in our after-school program. She was responsible for the creation and implementation of educational activities for our elementary aged youth. Her ability to work with a variety of youth, parents, co-workers, and community members with integrity and compassion was exemplary. During that time, I can honestly say that she was one of the most organized, ambitious, effective, and morally sound employees that I had supervised.

Since then, we have both moved into other work environments, but as our paths cross, I am proud to say that Karinda's work ethic remains steadfast, and her high moral compass is unmovable. She has demonstrated superb leadership capabilities while cultivating professional partnerships, that have greatly benefitted our community. I truly believe that any organization that is seeking to enhance its services to meet the needs of its clients would be extremely wise and fortunate to consult with her.

-Howard Jackson, Program Supervisor
Syracuse City School District

I got to know Karinda while evaluating several of the programs she administered at Contact Community Services. While many people in her position viewed program evaluation as a necessary obligation, Karinda viewed it as a source of valuable information that enabled her to continuously improve the services her agency provided to its clients.

I found Karinda to be a passionate advocate for those she served and a leader that inspired confidence and a commitment to excellence in the people she supervised. I am confident that any organization that decides to utilize her services will be well rewarded.

-Tom Hadlick, Program Evaluator (retired)
Office of Professional Research and Development, Syracuse University School of Education

Karinda is someone I deeply admire and respect for her integrity, passion, and commitment to serving others. A true servant-leader, I have had the pleasure of partnering with her as a fellow non-profit leader and learning with her in a leadership program we both participated in this past year. As a collaborative partner, Karinda is a creative, solution-driven leader. She follows through on her commitments and communicates openly and honestly. As a peer in our leadership program, Karinda’s humility was inspiring. What I’ve learned most about her is that she is not only motivated by the opportunity to positively impact her community, especially young people, but also by her desire to share her wealth of knowledge and experiences for the betterment of her team.

I am extremely confident in my recommendation of Karinda and those seeking her services will reap the benefits of working with such a dynamic leader. Any organization or business would be fortunate to align themselves with a person who is known and defined by her high moral standards, work ethic, and ability to elevate those around her.

-Jeff Eysaman, Executive Director
North Area Family YMCA

During my tenure as Superintendent of the Syracuse City School District, I had the opportunity to work with Karinda Shanes as the Executive Director of the Hillside Work Scholarship Program.

Karinda is a very professional, caring and organized leader. She manages a team of Youth Advocates that provide support to our students and families. Through her leadership and this partnership, we saw an increase in the graduation rate in the district.

Karinda is an excellent communicator and problem solver. She met with our staff monthly to monitor the goals of our partnership and to make sure that we were making progress toward achieving our goals. She is not afraid of making changes in order to provide the students with the support needed to be successful.

In closing, it is a pleasure and positive experience to work with Karinda and her team.

-Jaime Alicea, Retired Superintendent of Syracuse City School District

Testimony after testimony will talk about Karinda’s integrity and character, but that is only the core of who she is, not all that she is. Karinda is one of the strongest most dedicated individuals I have ever had the privilege of meeting and working for/with. I started working for her in 2013 and from the very beginning, at my interview, I was able to sense her drive and care for others. She hired me to work in the NSCSD. Before I even accepted the job and started working she took time to clearly lay out the job description for the Program Manager position that I was being offered. She is a strong leader that ensures those who work for her, feel they work with her. I knew right away working underneath her was the stepping stone I needed at that point in my career.

I learned rather quickly working with Karinda that she had so much passion for the work she does. Although she was the lead organizer, she worked collaboratively with stake holders to create a vision, write a proposal and receive the 21st Century Grant to provide services to both SCSD and NSCSD.

While we worked together at Contact I then witnessed her bring in 3.8 million dollars into the agency and grow her department while landing additional contracts to serve surrounding school districts, focusing on disadvantaged youth.

Seeing firsthand the relationships she built with the principals and other professionals of the buildings I worked inside of was inspiring. To know Karinda, is to love and respect her. She builds connections wherever she goes.

I cannot say enough great things about her. Working with her gave me the opportunity to become the professional individual I am today.

-Desiree Phillips, Social Worker
Elmcrest SPICE at Park Hill

It is my pleasure to have worked collaboratively with Karinda Shanes as the leader of CONTACT Community Services. In 2015, Karinda Shanes and her team approached the district office administrators of the North Syracuse Central School District -- advocating for the students and families that were challenged in their realities of learning in poverty. As the principal of Roxboro Rd Elementary School, I experienced intrinsically and extrinsically the perils of this underserved community and fought diligently to get additional support. Karinda Shanes and her CONTACT team “to the rescue!” Karinda was experienced, knowledgeable and professional in her presentations and meetings with reluctant district-level leaders. She patiently and eloquently allowed the data to speak for itself, as she guided us to identify our problems, create action plans, and curriculums. She developed her staff to support our students’ additional learning needs: analyzing tests scores, talking to teachers and procuring the materials and supplies needed. Together, we wrote grants and received NYS funding to create an academic/social/emotional program that was utilized during school hours and after school.

I was totally impressed and inspired with Karinda’s skills and abilities to lead and manage her entire staff. Under her leadership, each staff member was passionate and committed to their roles in the program -- and ultimately the success of the program. The teachers, parents, and of course, the students were very pleased with the CONTACT presence in our building. We witnessed improvement in student learning, their behaviors and their motivation to be better students.

Karinda is a walking business and community resource with unlimited connections. She is brilliant! Ask her a question, and she always has had experience, a personal contact phone number and “an app for that”. She’s knowledgeable, reliable, and adventurous; and not hesitant to make hard decisions. Throughout my experiences with Karinda, I witnessed her kindness, compassion, patience, flexibility, innovation, and creativity. Her core foundation comes from a place of passion and sheer integrity. She is “the real deal”. Karinda Shanes is an outstanding professional with a great commitment to the growth and development of herself and others. Karinda Shane is excellent at all that she does.

-Jackie Grace (retired)
Principal, North Syracuse Central School District

As a member of a university evaluation team serving Contact Community Services, I had the good fortune to witness Karinda as both leader and collaborator. In both capacities she was a true professional: setting direction and moving things forward; working as a partner to meet objectives; maintaining a team attitude of “can do, together,” even in the face of complex realities. So good that now the Shanes talent and skills can be brought out to so many more folks with needs for all she offers.

-Scott L Shablak, Ph.D., Syracuse University

I have known Karinda for 16 years and had the pleasure of working with her for over 10 years. There aren’t enough adjectives to describe what Karinda exemplifies. She is the most intelligent, motivated, capable, hard-working and one of the strongest people I know. Combining her strength with compassion and empathy plus equity and fidelity, make her a proven leader. She is creative and fair, always finding a solution, often outside the box. She has such a positive and confident attitude which compliments her kindness, gratitude and spiritualism. I am extremely proud of all her accomplishments and am certain she will be successful in all future endeavors.

-Kathleen Sheaks, School Services Department Manager
Contact Community Services