EASTON, Pa. — After three decades helming a mission to provide a variety of services to those in need across the city and beyond, ProJeCt of Easton CEO Janice D. Komisor has announced her retirement at the end of the month.
The organization was founded in 1968 when Protestant, Jewish and Catholic community leaders came together to make a measurable, local impact on poverty. Komisor has lead the operation for over half its existence, and said she is “profoundly thankful to have found work with purpose and to pursue the founders’ vision.”
- ProJeCt of Easton CEO Janice D. Komisor will retire at the end of August
- Komisor has served the agency for 30 years, focusing on literacy programs and other initiatives to increase adult education
- Looking back on her years at ProJeCt, Komisor noted the most fulfilling experience was witnessing the success of students
Following 30 years of offering free education to those struggling with poverty, Komisor will pass the torch to Kim Checkeye, who will share leadership with Komisor until her departure at the end of August.
“I would say that there is always an event, one event a year. that gives me a huge amount of pride. It's never gotten old after 30 years, and it's where we celebrate students who are graduating from our workforce development and literacy programs, usually graduating with a GED, sometimes with citizenship, or other benchmark credentials."ProJeCt of Easton CEO Janice D. Komisor
Komisor’s time with ProJeCt began in 1994, when an opening that matched her background in literacy education became available. An alumna of Lehigh University, Komisor jumped at the opportunity.
“I was hired to run that program, and I think at the time it was the largest funding application they'd ever received,” Komisor said. “And, you know, there was a lot of concern about the capacity to, you know, to run such a prominent program. And we went on to become one of the high highest performing programs in the state, and were asked to participate in a number of federal studies.”
From there, she was named director of Language and Literacy Services from 1998, and in 2007 she took up the helm of executive director.
An evidence-based approach
While federal funding for family literacy ceased a few years back, the state has continued to support the efforts of institutions like ProJeCt, Komisor said.
A major focus for Komisor has been identifying and employing interventions that really worked for marginalized communities, and particularly for economically-disadvantaged people.
“It's important to find an evidence-based model, but then you have to give a huge amount of attention to training staff and constantly monitoring and exploring your execution of the model so that the people who come to us for help get meaningful and measurable help and advancement. You know, they're not coming just for encouragement, they need real change, and I've spent my career entirely committed to that proposition,” Komisor said.
Komisor said the basic nature of ProJeCt has always been a whole-person approach, both for the clients and the organization itself.
“So we’ve built our programs so that they connect to one another and with the idea that it provides a seamless pathway for people,” she said.
Having the opportunity to witness success stories from that path, Komisor said she delights in the times when she gets to witness students complete their work and make a move into the future.
“I would say that there is always one event a year that gives me a huge amount of pride. It's never gotten old after 30 years, and it's where we celebrate students who are graduating from our workforce development and literacy programs, usually graduating with a GED, sometimes with citizenship, or other benchmark credentials,” Komisor said.
“And I always tell people each of the graduates is incredibly proud. They're wearing a cap and gown there, and they're having this ceremony that they missed earlier in life. And they're very proud of that paper, that credential, that GED,” she said.
And that pride and confidence carries over, Komisor said, as participants use their newfound skills and build upon them to expand their options in the workforce and beyond.
That’s a tough mountain to climb for many, she noted, as those who may have failed in the past may be carrying that weight, affecting their chances of really applying themselves to programs.
A path forward
While the voyage to success is never easy, ProJeCt and its proponents have always sought to offer assistance wherever it is needed — whether it's auxiliary services like emergency assistance, or referrals to other programs to address substance abuse, domestic violence or other issues, Komisor said.
Through its network of support, including the Lehigh Valley Workforce Development Board, Pennsylvania CareerLink, community colleges, school districts and the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, Komisor said ProJeCt has gone above and beyond its mission.
“It's a very demanding environment in which we work, and it’s hard to watch some of the suffering that people go through, but it’s also rewarding, because we can see the change we make,” Komisor said.
Komisor and ProJeCt have been recognized with multiple awards, including the Freedom through Literacy Award, presented by Judith’s Reading Room; Liberty Bell Award, presented by the PA Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division; inaugural George Wolf Public Education Award, presented by the Easton Area School District; Gateway to Equity Award, presented by the American Association of University Women; the Barbara Bush Family Literacy Foundation grant; and Executive Education Scholarship to Harvard Business School, presented by the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
ProJeCt Easton also received a coveted four-star rating by Charity Navigator and Platinum rating from Candid, once known as Guidestar under Komisor's leadership.
“Janice’s dedication to the agency and the people we serve is immeasurable,” board members Alan Abraham and Daniel Cohen said in a statement. “She has labored tirelessly to ensure our agency delivers quality services to people in need each and every day. Janice is known in our community to be a woman who takes care to ‘lift people up’ as she stresses respect and empowerment for each individual who is touched by ProJeCt.”
So what’s next for Komisor? Outside of plans to spend time with her granddaughter, the future is a bit of a mystery –- and for her, that’s alright.
“One thing I have decided is that I think there's a great value in not knowing what I'm going to do the Monday after I retire, and to allow myself the time for the first time in decades to not know precisely what I need to do next,” Komisor said.
