Amy Gordon, LSW – CEO
Amy Gordon is the CEO of Directions for Youth & Families (DFYF). Amy has deep experience in youth development, school-based behavioral health, fundraising, and organizational leadership. She has more than two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, community engagement, and behavioral health services. She founded AEG Consulting, LLC where she partnered with nonprofit organizations across Ohio and nationally to strengthen organizational capacity, expand programs, secure funding, and navigate leadership transitions.
Prior to that, Amy served for over a decade at Communities In Schools of Ohio, including seven years as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, where she oversaw the statewide expansion of school-based initiatives improving educational outcomes, student well-being, and family stability. Early in her career, she was a Family Specialist and Supervisor with Crittenton Family Services, and then went on to direct after-school and family engagement programs in partnership with the Ohio Department of Education’s Office of Student Safety, Health, and Nutrition.
A licensed social worker (LSW), Gordon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from The Ohio State University.
Patricia Edwards, CPA, MBA – Chief Financial Officer
Patricia Edwards is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and has been with the agency since 2020. Her role includes overseeing all aspects of financial operations and fiscal management. Pat provides strategic, accounting, budgetary and operational support to all programs and activities. She directly oversees and supervises the financial/accounting staff. Her background includes over 20 years of senior leadership experience in nonprofit finance. Pat has a Master of Business Administration degree and is a Certified Public Accountant.
John Cervi, MS. Ed., LSW – Chief Operating Officer
John Cervi is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Directions for Youth & Families. He has been at the agency since 2000. His role includes overseeing the overall agency functions and operations. He provides oversight and supervision of all programs, planning, development, implementation, evaluations, and capacity. He oversees the agency management/administrative staff and provides feedback and direction. His background includes over 38 years of work in Social Services. He has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Counseling and is a Licensed Social Worker.
Joseluis Guajardo, LPCC-S – Senior Director of Advancement & Prevention Programs
Joseluis Guajardo, LPCC-S, is Senior Director of Advancement & Prevention Programs. He has been with the agency since 2009 and has over 18 years of experience working with at-risk youth in therapeutic and residential settings. He has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is an Independently Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC-S). Joseluis serves on the City of Columbus Middle School Advisory Committee, the Steering Committee for the Partnership for Success (P4S), and provides agency and community trainings around Trauma Informed Care and Resilience Oriented approaches (ARC Model). His trainings include: Cultural Competency, Implementing Trauma Informed Care through Prevention Programming, Self-Regulation, Verbal De-escalation, Affect Identification, and Routines & Rhythms. He has served as a panelist for the Columbus Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) in a collaborative effort to improve cultural competency among law enforcement and has been a leader in expanding community after-school programming through the City of Columbus’s After-school Initiative for Middle School.