SAVANNAH, Ga. — Elevate Savannah is pleased to welcome David E. Jacobsen, Psy.D., as its new Executive Director. David brings decades of nonprofit leadership experience in youth and family services, strategic partnerships and organizational growth to the role.
David most recently served as president and CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Augusta. He previously led Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region in Albany, New York, where he helped expand services from 4,000 to 14,000 families served while strengthening corporate partnerships and developing new programs for families with hospitalized children. His career also includes executive leadership with children’s services organizations and consulting work focused on program development, organizational sustainability and community impact.
“David understands that lasting change begins with relationships,” said George Oelschig, founder of Elevate Savannah. “His experience bringing people together around a mission, strengthening organizations and expanding opportunities for young people makes him an excellent leader for Elevate Savannah’s next chapter. We are excited to welcome him to our community.”
“I am honored to join Elevate Savannah and build on the strong foundation already established in this community,” said David. “Throughout my career, I have seen the impact that is possible when dedicated staff, boards, donors and community partners come together around a shared mission. I look forward to working alongside the Elevate Savannah team to strengthen the relationships that make this work possible and expand our reach to even more young people across Savannah.”
As executive director, David will lead Elevate Savannah’s work to build long-term, life-changing relationships with youth and equip them to thrive and contribute to their community. The organization supports students from elementary school through high school through year-to-year relationships with teacher-mentors, academic support, peer leadership and career training.
David holds a Doctor of Psychology in clinical psychology and a Master of Arts in clinical psychology from Wheaton College Graduate School. His leadership philosophy centers on building organizational capacity, cultivating resources and empowering teams to advance an organization’s mission and expand its community impact.
About Elevate Savannah:
Since its launch in 2019 at A.E. Beach High School, Elevate Savannah’s mission has been to build meaningful relationships with urban youth, equipping them to thrive and contribute to their community. Now, the rapidly growing student mentor program now has representation in all levels of the Savannah-Chatham County Schools. Currently, over 600 students from A.E. Beach High School, DeRenne Middle School, and Hodge Elementary School are involved with Elevate Savannah. With its first elementary, middle, and high school pipeline complete, Elevate Savannah’s next goal will be to expand the program to other Savannah-Chatham County Title I schools in order to support as many local students as possible. For more information, please visit www.elevatesavannah.org.
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