Longtime behavioral health leader returns her focus to Connecticut at Positive Directions-The Center for Prevention and Counseling
WESTPORT, Conn. Positive Directions-The Center for Prevention and Counseling, Inc. has named Kim DiBella-Farber, LMSW, as its new Executive Director. DiBella-Farber has spent more than 20 years leading nonprofit organizations through periods of growth and change, with a career that began in Connecticut, took her to a national level, and now brings her back home to lead an agency that has served Fairfield County for 55 years.
Positive Directions, founded in 1971, is an innovative community nonprofit providing leadership in mental health, substance prevention, and peer support across Connecticut. The organization is committed to making services financially accessible by providing free peer support, free trainings, and a sliding fee scale and treatment fund for counseling services for those who are underinsured or uninsured.
“I am honored to lead Positive Directions into its next chapter. The organization has spent more than fifty years building trust in the region, providing a unique blend of community prevention, peer support, and clinical services. I’m excited to partner with the amazing Positive Directions team to strengthen that foundation. Together, we will ensure reliable access to high-quality services that achieve positive change for individuals, families, and communities across Fairfield County and throughout the state.”
Kim DiBella-Farber, LMSW, Executive Director
DiBella-Farber joins Positive Directions from Changent, a national organization advancing multigenerational, evidence-based programs including Nurse-Family Partnership and Child First, where she served as the National Director of Data and Quality since 2016. In that role, she led a national data, evaluation, and quality team, and helped guide the expansion of Child First’s mental health services to seven states, reaching more than 2,500 families annually.
Earlier in her career, DiBella-Farber served as Chief Operating Officer at the Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut in Stamford. She also held quality improvement leadership roles at Good Shepherd Services in New York City.
A resident of Fairfield County, DiBella-Farber holds a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Connecticut. She is a Connecticut State Licensed Master Social Worker.
“Kim’s track record of strategic leadership, financial stewardship, and deep commitment to behavioral health made her the clear choice to lead Positive Directions. We’re grateful for Jess Branson who has led the organization as our interim Executive Director and will return to the Board as Vice President.”
Mercedes Escala, Board Chair