Quantum Leap welcomes Pat Fried as CEO of our very successful 11 year old non-profit. She’s jumped in with enthusiasm. In her first week she set about find out about and participating in all of the Farm’s programs, which included a gentle jog on one of the Farm’s favorite horses-Idaho. In the last three months, she has been everywhere and seen everyone. Pat and Edie Dopking, Founder and COO of Quantum Leap Farm, have been developing new programs, revitalizing the Farm’s current offerings, reaching out to the community, attending and hosting events, and creating better and more efficient operating systems for the Farm.
Prior to joining Quantum Leap Farm in January 2011, Pat held senior leadership positions in small grassroots organizations as well as a large multi-million dollar nonprofit. She received her Juris Doctorate from Creighton University and while she practiced law for a short while, she was soon drawn into public service and joined Eckerd Youth Alternatives, a multi-state nonprofit organization where she worked in a variety of positions over a 21 year span. Pat's responsibilities over her years with that organization grew from providing oversight of daily operations of a unit serving delinquent youth to her last position as Associate Vice President of Quality. During her last 15 years with Eckerd, Pat led organizational efforts to improve the quality of service to youth and their families through performance management efforts and the adoption of evidence-based practices. As the executive leader of performance improvement, she led efforts to define strategic objectives, establish measures and targets to evaluate the objectives, and to produce reliable information for sound decision-making. In her role as Executive Director at a small grassroots organization in St. Petersburg, Pat worked on several projects including a community dialogue focused on improving success for children, a community baby shower and implementation of a parenting curriculum in the organization’s preschool.
Pat has extensive analysis, evaluation, planning, and implementation skills enabling her to manage a number of large projects simultaneously. She has presented at many conferences, both nationally and internationally. Pat is a true collaborator who focuses on identifying community needs and finding innovative ways to engage partners to help meet those needs. She engaged the University of South Florida St. Petersburg in collaborative research projects. Pat nurtures a culture of accountability and actively seeks out community partnerships wherever she works.
Edie feels that “Pat’s previous experience and considerable skill set will be a great compliment to our current staff.”
Quantum’s staff has welcomed Pat with open arms and the organization feels it has entered a new era. Pat’s background in quality, organizational efficiency, business development and leadership will help Quantum Leap Farm reach toward its goal to be one of the country's model equine therapy centers.