CINCINNATI —4C for Children announced that President & CEO Vanessa Freytag intends to retire from her role in early summer 2025, following 10 years at the helm of the agency. The search for a new CEO will be led by transition management professionals over the next six months.
4C for Children has achieved a variety of notable achievements under Freytag’s leadership including:
- 99% of child care programs serving families who receive financial assistance for child care attained a quality rating, and the number of high quality-programs doubled in the Southwest Ohio and Miami Valley regions.
- Over 140 child care program startups were launched via support from the American Recovery Plan Act and private funders, resulting in more than 2,300 new child care seats in classrooms across Southwest Ohio.
- The launch of an innovative program to attract new teachers to the early childhood education field and helped 170 candidates fill open positions at local child care programs.
- Expanding the work of the agency to assist families interested in fostering and/or adopting children and youth, responding to more than 1,000 inquiries and counting.
- Promoted an online, interactive child care tool to help more than 3,600 families find child care annually.
- The agency was recognized as a 2024 Best Places to Work by the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Throughout her tenure Freytag says she has “worked to put people first – within the agency and through our service delivery. We have established core values that act as guideposts to serving our clients—and our interactions with each other—every day. And I am also so very proud of the Shared Leadership model that we have created and implemented that gives more voices within our organization the opportunity to shape innovations and develop creative ways to serve children, families and child care programs.”
Freytag is a dynamic leader who has championed quality child care, social services, and nonprofit capacity building at the regional and state level. She has chaired several boards including Ohio Child Care Resource & Referral Association (OCCRRA), the Hamilton County Human Services Chamber and the Leadership Council for Nonprofits. Prior to joining 4C for Children, Freytag served as executive director of The Women’s Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, owned two businesses and was a bank executive.
“We are deeply grateful for Vanessa’s visionary leadership and tireless dedication to 4C for Children and the families they serve,” said Jessica Yankie, PNC Client and Community Relations director for Cincinnati and 4C for Children board chair. “Vanessa has transformed the organization, expanding access to high-quality child care, supporting early childhood educators, and championing the well-being of countless young lives through foster, adoptive and kinship care. On behalf of the board and the entire 4C for Children family, we celebrate Vanessa’s remarkable contributions and wish her a fulfilling and joyful retirement.”
Freytag says her time at 4C for Children “has been some of the most rewarding years of my career. It has been a privilege to lead the agency and to stand beside so many dedicated professionals each day who bring such passion and excellence to their work.”
Over the next six months the search for a new CEO will be led by experts in transition management, ensuring a thoughtful and thorough process. The 4C for Children Board of Trustees is establishing a search committee composed of dedicated board members and community representatives.