Leading With Purpose - Maureen Dunleavy

SOCIAL IMPACT JOURNAL SPOTLIGHTING THOSE UPLIFTING THE HUMAN SPIRIT

LEADING WITH FEATURING

PURPOSE MAUREEN DUNLEAVY

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS, SERVICE, AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH LEADERSHIP AT

APRIL 2026

FEATURE

Maureen Dunleavy BY: REBECCA HERNANDEZ, CREATIVE SERVICES MANAGER, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT

The scent of key lime pie drifted through the open-air restaurant on Duval Street as Maureen balanced a tray of iced teas and conch fritters. Just a few blocks away, the water shimmered in the late afternoon light while the steady murmur of the early dinner crowd filled the room. It wasn’t where she imagined she’d be after years of studying psychology and working in community-based behavioral health back in Illinois, but Maureen had never believed in being “stuck.”

Every chapter, she knew, had something to teach.

She had always been that way. Growing up as the oldest of three sisters, Maureen was naturally curious and deeply attuned to the people around her. She SISTERHOOD: Early lessons in connection, empathy, and looking out for one another.

paid attention. She helped where she could. Her mother would later tell her that even as a child, she was deeply caring and compassionate, and her first instinct was often to step forward rather than step back. It wasn’t something she consciously decided, it was just who she was.

That early awareness matured into purpose. By the time she reached college, psychology felt less like a subject she had chosen and more like a language she had always been learning. She was drawn to understanding how people navigate hardship, how systems shape outcomes, and how the right support

SHAPED BY COMMUNITY: Early life in Chicago helped form her perspective on people, systems, and support.

at the right moment can alter the trajectory of a life.

She circled it, heart lifting. That tiny notice would become a turning point, pulling her back into the work she was born to do, and ultimately shaping two decades of leadership in community behavioral health across the Keys.

FORMATIVE YEARS: Alpha Omicron Pi sisters and the friendships that shaped her.

Before moving to the Florida Keys in 2004, she’d done everything “right.” She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Northern Illinois University and later returned to school for a master’s degree in community counseling from Northeastern Illinois University. She completed her internship on the mobile crisis response team at Aunt Martha’s Youth Service Center, became both a National Certified Counselor and a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, and rose through the ranks at Aunt Martha’s from crisis worker to unit director overseeing multiple programs and offices in the Chicagoland suburbs.

True to her Type A personality, she’d sent résumés and cover letters ahead of her

If the Keys taught Maureen anything early, it was that community is not a concept. It’s a practice. You don’t just live alongside people here, you live with them. And that same thread runs through everything she believes about leadership.

“Community behavioral health is about relationships and service,” she said.

Relationships and service. It’s a simple phrase, but it holds the whole job: the trust you build with clients, the partnerships you maintain across schools and courts and corrections, the steady investment in staff when the work gets heavy and the days get long.

That investment is personal for Maureen.

She doesn’t see leadership as a perch. She sees it as proximity.

move, reaching out to every behavioral

“I don’t see myself above other people,”

health organization she could find in the

she said. “I still do direct service. I still

islands. But not a single one called back. She

complete assessments. I still cover on

would later learn that in the Keys, people

call, if needed. I’m not above fixing the

wanted proof you were staying before they

toilets. Sometimes I have the IT hat on,

opened a door.

I’m fixing computers, I do all the things.”

So, for a year and a half, she waited tables on Duval Street and gathered one of the biggest lessons of her life, “You’re never stuck. You can always do something else.” Then one morning before her shift, as she flipped through the Key West Citizen, a small ad caught her eye, “Care Center for Mental Health seeking therapist”.

NEW BEGINNINGS: Early days in the Keys, where a new chapter — and a deeper sense of purpose — began to unfold.

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MAUREEN DUNLEAVY

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It’s the kind of leadership style that earns loyalty because it gives loyalty. High expectations, yes. But also a clear message: we’re in this together.

That newspaper ad led to her first position in the Keys as a Children’s Therapist at the Care Center for Mental Health. It was a return not just to her profession, but to her purpose. The Care Center served some of the community’s most vulnerable youth and families, and Maureen approached the role the only way she knew how: fully present,

CHERISHED MOMENTS: Time with family that keeps her grounded.

In her first months, Maureen’s work lived where the needs were most acute. She was assigned as a Children’s Therapist in selfcontained classrooms at the local middle

fully invested.

school and high school, supporting students

At the time, the Care Center operated as its

challenges, including conduct issues that

own entity, already affiliated with WestCare as part of a broader network of behavioral health providers. Not long after Maureen joined, the Care Center and the Guidance Clinic —two longstanding pillars of behavioral health in the Keys—merged with a third site in Key Largo forming what would become Guidance/Care Center. Through that transition, the deeply local work she had committed herself to became part of a larger mission dedicated to Uplifting the Human Spirit. But in those early days, her focus was simple: show up, build trust, and serve.

with significant mental health and behavioral made it difficult for them to remain in a traditional learning environment. It was complex, high-stakes work, and it required equal parts clinical skill and steady presence.

But the way she was welcomed into it nearly sent her right back out the door. “I always tell people I was ready to quit by the third day,” she said. “There was no formal orientation, no support. I was just left to figure it out.” For someone who thrives on structure, it was a jarring start. For someone with Maureen’s wiring, it also became an invitation.

So she did what she has always done when the work matters: she figured it out. She asked questions, adapted quickly, and learned how to navigate a role that offered little guidance but immense responsibility.

Long before she held a leadership title, she gained a firsthand understanding of what it feels like to step into uncertainty, an experience that would later shape how she supported, guided, and invested in the people who would come after her.

ON THE WATER: Time outdoors that fuels her sense of adventure.

THE WORLD IS

your favor CONSPIRING IN

“I never wanted someone else to feel like

That perspective eventually became part of her

they were just dropped in without

leadership philosophy. Maureen understands

support,” she explained. “People do their

that growth rarely arrives in predictable ways.

best work when they feel prepared and

Moments that feel uncertain often become the

valued.”

ones that shape a person most profoundly.

As Guidance/Care Center grew and evolved, so did Maureen’s role within it. Over time, her responsibilities expanded, first into supervisory roles, and then into broader operational leadership. She stepped into positions including Children and Families Director, Clinical Director, and later Area Director, each one widening her view of the organization and the people who made it work. With every transition, she carried forward the lessons she had learned in those

Rather than shielding her staff from those realities, she helps them move through them with trust.

“Don’t worry, it’ll all work out,” she tells them. “So much happens in life and we perceive it as negative, and we have no idea the places it will take us. It’s like the world is conspiring in your favor. That’s what I tell people. The world is conspiring in your favor.”

early days, especially the importance of

It is a belief rooted in experience. She had lived

supporting staff not just as employees, but as

it herself, in the unanswered résumés, in the

people doing emotionally demanding work.

waiting tables, in the roles that tested her

“I would see people get hired and then

before they strengthened her.

didn’t see the investment and the engagement,” she said. “That really stuck with me.” Rather than accepting it as part of the system, she made a decision. She would help build something better. Advancement was never about title, it was about influence.

It was about creating an environment where people felt prepared, supported, and connected to the mission they served.

OPEN HORIZONS: Embracing the belief that life unfolds in her favor.

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MAUREEN DUNLEAVY

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She found a renewed passion for community mental health — grounded in the belief that mental health is something we all carry, not something that belongs to “other people.” In the Keys, that perspective became deeply personal.

While the community is beautiful and uniquely connected, it also faces significant stressors, from hurricanes to the high cost of living. For decades, Monroe County had one of the highest suicide rates in the state, with housing instability emerging as one of the strongest RESILIENT SPIRIT: Riding forward with purpose.

risk factors.

She witnessed friends and neighbors struggle

Now, she passes that perspective forward,

to access resources, and lives were lost. Rather

helping others find steadiness in uncertainty.

than discouraging her, these realities

That ability to anchor others became one of

deepened her commitment, strengthening

her defining strengths as a leader and

both her passion and her connection to the

naturally opened the door to greater

community she serves.

responsibility.

That sense of connection became deeply

Eventually, that path led her into executive

personal after Maureen was injured in a

leadership, first as Vice President and

bicycle accident. In the weeks that followed,

ultimately as Senior Vice President, where

members of the community organized

she now oversees a network of programs

fundraisers to support her recovery, many of

serving individuals and families across the

them were people she had worked alongside

Keys.

or served over the years. It was a meaningful

What made the work sustainable was the same thing that had first drawn her back to it: the community itself. In the Keys, professional boundaries and personal

reminder that the relationships she had invested in were real, enduring, and mutual.

The community she had committed herself to had, in turn, committed itself to her.

connections often overlap in meaningful ways. Colleagues became neighbors. Clients became familiar faces at the grocery store.

Partnerships formed not just through formal agreements, but through shared commitment to the well-being of the place they all called home. In fact, the local motto is One Human Family.

RECOGNIZED FOR IMPACT: Receiving the Spirit of Community Award alongside CAC member Elena Spottswood.

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Today, Maureen oversees approximately 130 employees across 26 programs and four locations, providing behavioral health services in schools, correctional settings, and community-based environments throughout the Keys. The scope is vast, but her philosophy remains grounded in the same principles she learned early on: show up, stay connected, and never lose sight of the people behind the work.

Each year, she chooses a word as a charge for staff and the agency goal for that calendar year. The last three years the words have been engagement, unity and resilience. No surprise.

THE HERON: Expanding access to mental health housing in the Keys.

Beyond direct clinical services, Maureen has

Assisted Living Facility with a limited mental

helped strengthen the broader infrastructure

health license (AL8523). Located in Marathon,

that makes behavioral health care and housing

the Heron provides room and board along

accessible across the Keys. Through

with supportive services. Protecting our mental

partnerships with regional and statewide

health housing is key for suicide prevention,

networks, she has contributed to expanding

housing our most vulnerable adults and

programs and improving coordination of care

keeping them close to their families. By the

for some of the community’s most vulnerable

end of this year, the residents will be able to

populations. She is currently finishing a 5-year

move in.

project of rebuilding The Heron, a housing program that was opened in 1988 in response to the needs of local families and is a 16 bed

Under her leadership, Guidance/Care Center also has grown and expanded many community-based programs, including mobile crisis response, medication-assisted treatment, and hospital bridge programs. This year, transportation services for those who are disadvantaged assist with travel between islands to access treatment or to reach the mainland for specialty care. GCC ‘s Florida Keys Transportation removes one of the most significant barriers to care in Monroe County’s geographically dispersed landscape.

These efforts reflect her understanding that effective behavioral health support extends beyond therapy rooms. It requires systems that meet people where they are and help them reach where they need to go.

BREAKING GROUND: With WestCare CEO Ken Ortbals and Frank Rabbito at The Heron groundbreaking.

MAUREEN DUNLEAVY

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kept encouraging me to apply for the CCBHC status,” she said.

His guidance and support helped transform hesitation into action. What once felt like an overwhelming responsibility became an opportunity to strengthen the organization in WORKING TOGETHER: With Florida leaders advancing behavioral health in the Keys.

ways that would benefit both staff and the community for years to come.

That encouragement helped set the stage for one of the initiatives Maureen is most proud of: Guidance/Care Center’s transition to becoming a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC), a model designed to expand access to comprehensive, coordinated behavioral health services. The designation represents a significant commitment, requiring expanded infrastructure, enhanced reporting,

SUPPORT IN ACTION: Expanding safe transportation for those in crisis.

and the ability to serve individuals regardless of their ability to pay.

That same philosophy guided one of the most significant organizational milestones of her leadership.

One of the people who played a pivotal role in encouraging that step forward was Frank Rabbito, a respected South Florida community leader who previously served as Chief Operating Officer of WestCare’s Florida Region and is now a member of the President’s Legacy Council. His mentorship helped shape Maureen’s path as a leader. She credits his guidance with helping her navigate pivotal decisions and expand her vision for what the organization could become.

When she hesitated to pursue the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic designation, unsure of the scale and responsibility it would require, she was encouraged to move forward. “Frank Rabbito LEADING THE WAY: Advancing behavioral health through advocacy and leadership.

LEADERSHIP ISN’T ABOUT CONTROL IT’S ABOUT CREATING SPACE FOR OTHERS

to thrive.

Maureen Dunleavy

MAUREEN DUNLEAVY

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A LIFE TOGETHER: Honoring a partnership rooted in love and shared experience.

The results affirmed the decision. CCBHC

Together, they have built a life shaped by

allowed Guidance/Care Center to reach more

both routines and shared adventures,

individuals, strengthen continuity of care, and

embracing the rhythms of island living that

build systems that better supported both

first drew her there years ago.

clients and staff. Looking back, Maureen sees it as a defining step in the organization’s evolution, one that aligned perfectly with the mission she had carried out since her earliest days as a therapist: making sure people have access to the support they need, when they need it.

When asked how she maintains balance amid the weight of her responsibilities, Maureen points to the importance of stepping away and gaining perspective. She and Kevin make the most of their time off, using vacations not simply as rest, but as opportunities to explore the world together. Travel allows her

Outside of her professional responsibilities,

to reset, to experience new places and

Maureen’s life in the Keys is grounded in the

cultures, and to return with renewed clarity

same sense of connection and belonging that

and energy. It is both escape and expansion,

defines her leadership. She met her husband,

a reminder that even those deeply

Kevin, here and they built a home. He came

committed to serving their communities

into her life right after that bicycle accident

must also make space to nurture their own

and his steady presence was a constant

sense of wonder and take care of their own

source of support throughout her journey.

mental health.

“I can’t do this job if I am burnt out and

rare and valuable: the freedom to disconnect

start to experience resentment. I always

from responsibility and reconnect with

say community behavioral health is hard,

imagination. It is another reminder that

but so rewarding. Taking a break helps me

leadership is not defined by constant

do what I do best.”

seriousness, but by the ability to remain fully

Beyond physical activity and travel, Maureen

human, curious, and open to joy.

also embraces creativity and play. She and

Maureen and Kevin share their home with

Kevin participate in all the Key West annual

their three beloved cats, whose personalities

festivities. At Halloween this includes creative

and daily companionship provide a gentle

themed costumes that allow them to step into

counterbalance to the demands of her role. It

entirely different worlds, if only for a moment.

is in these quieter moments, away from

In fact, the 2015 Masquerade March (dressed

meetings and decisions, that Maureen finds

as Pac Man ghosts) ended in a marriage

space to recharge, reflect, and remain

proposal. These experiences offer something

connected to the life she has built beyond her title.

This grounding has been essential. Leadership, she has learned, is not sustained by ambition alone. It is sustained by balance, by relationships, and by the sense of home that makes the work meaningful.

Years ago, she stood in a restaurant on Duval

A MEMORABLE MOMENT: A playful night that led to a life-changing question.

Street, uncertain of what would come next.

Today, she stands at the helm of an organization that touches thousands of lives across the Keys. The path between those moments was not linear, but it was purposeful.

Through every transition, one principle has remained constant: leadership is not about standing apart. It is about standing alongside.

It is about showing up, investing in people, and

HOME LIFE: Mikey, Wizzie, and Goldie, bringing comfort and companionship.

helping build systems that allow others to succeed.

And for Maureen, that work continues, one relationship, one decision, and one act of service at a time.

LOOKING AHEAD: Taking in the view and all that lies beyond.

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THE POWER OF PROXIMITY Maureen Dunleavy’s leadership journey is defined by service, resilience, and connection. From her early days in community behavioral health to her role as Senior Vice President, she has remained grounded in one guiding principle: leadership is about creating space for others to thrive.

Through her work at WestCare, she continues to build systems of care that strengthen communities and support individuals at every stage of life—always guided by a commitment to Uplifting the Human Spirit.

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