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The Covenant House Institute leads the way in bringing attention to the issues that affect homeless, runaway, and at-risk youth.
Executive Director: Bruce J. Henry
Bruce J. Henry has more than 40 years of experience in adolescent care. Over the past 25 years, he has spearheaded the development of several of Covenant House's most innovative programs. He served as Executive Director of Covenant House New York (CHNY) for 20 years.
Bruce joined CHNY in 1984 as the Director of Crisis Services. As Director, Bruce was responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Crisis Center and for creating innovative and unique services addressing the needs of the youth. His ability to foresee the immediate need for long term services for the youth led him to create Covenant House's most ground-breaking and complex program: Rights of Passage. This program, established in March of 1986, was designed as a transitional living facility to assist formerly homeless youth in achieving self-sufficiency and independent living. To date, the Rights of Passage program has been established in twelve Covenant House sites throughout North America: Alaska, California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, DC.
With the creation of Rights of Passage, Bruce became the Executive Director of CHNY in 1986. In addition to being the founder of Rights of Passage, Bruce created CHNY Community Resource Centers, located in each borough. The Community Resource Centers meet the needs of the youth by bridging the gap between at-risk and homelessness. The Community Resource Centers provide vocational and educational training allowing the youth to remain at home while obtaining services needed to become self-sufficient.
Another influential aspect of CHNY that Bruce introduced was a management training program, known as the COII program. This program encourages entry-level staff throughout the agency to be placed in management roles in order to train them to become the next generation of leaders. While enrolled in the COII program, individuals attend graduate school, learn about all of the functions of the agency including the budgeting process and receive direct training from senior management. The COII program has produced four Executive Directors throughout Covenant House and senior managers in many other social service agencies.
Bruce holds a MPA from Long Island University and a JD from Brooklyn Law School.
Regional Directors:
Mollie Berliss
Mollie Berliss was involved in the start-up of the Institute and assisted in its development as a fully operational, internationally-based entity. She worked at Covenant House New York (CHNY) for 4 years before coming to the Covenant House Institute. She is a graduate of CHNY's COII Program and has worked in Rights of Passage, Community Programs, the Regional Training Center, Ezekiel's Catering, and the Executive Office. She has a MA in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University and is fluent in French.
Miranda Yates
Miranda Yates joined Covenant House Institute in October 2008. Miranda began work with Covenant House in 1997 as National Coordinator of a multisite evaluation conducted in partnership with the Menninger Foundation. Since 1998, she has held several positions at Covenant House California including Director of Transitional Living Programs and Director of Quality Assurance and Special Projects. Miranda has published several journal articles and two books on the topic of youth community service and civic engagement. She has a PhD in Psychology (Human Development) from the Catholic University of America.
