Dear Friends of Chester County Opportunities Industrialization Center (CCOIC),

It is with both sadness and gratitude that I announce that after 22 ½ years of service to CCOIC, I have resigned my position to take on a new opportunity as CEO of Friends Association for Care and Protection of Children, effective 2/15/2024.

During my time with CCOIC as GED Instructor, Program Coordinator, Deputy Director, Interim Director, Executive Director and CEO, this organization has realized great changes. Our existing programs have grown, we’ve developed new programs, our services have become more easily available to our unemployed, underemployed and under-skilled adults of Chester County and most recently those of the Coatesville area, and our budget has expanded significantly (over 2,000 percent) to accommodate this growth. 

What’s more, CCOIC is now the proud owner of two significant assets – our lovely building at 22 N. 5^th Avenue (awarded through a grant sponsored by Housing and Urban Development) and our 8-passenger van (awarded through a grant sponsored by former Senator Andy Dinniman).

For more than 22 years I have given my energy, vision, and heart to CCOIC and the thousands of students who have crossed our threshold – both literally and virtually. I am honored to have worked with the finest and brightest group of dedicated team members and instructors who have made this work so rewarding, interesting, intense and such a pleasure. While the search begins for a new CCOIC CEO, I have every confidence in the team’s ability to make this a smooth transition for our students and the community.

To my Board of Directors, thank you for your past and continued support of our Mission — opening opportunities for individuals to prepare for sustainable employment and financial independence through education, training and support services, and our Vision —  to be leaders in improving the lives of disadvantaged adults by creating educational and employment opportunities.

To my OICA of America Family, thank you for being a beacon of hope for those who are involved in the mass incarceration system and reentering our community, the poor, the socially disconnected and encumbered. Your work with the Sullivan Training Network provides much needed light and a pathway to opportunity and economic security.

And mostly to our Coatesville Community, thank you for embracing us so kindly and passionately. It has been your warm embrace that has carried us through – through our move in 2018, through COVID, through new programming and services. May CCOIC continue to prosper and bring prosperity to this city and throughout Chester County.

If you have any questions or concerns about this transition, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at 484-947-4851 or by email at joycechester59@gmail.com .

Sincerely,

Joyce Chester