November Breakfast

Allison Stearns has dedicated her career to the health and welfare of people across the lifespan. She has more than 30 years of experience in community and behavioral health and nonprofit leadership.  Since 2014 when she joined CaringMatters (formerly Hospice Caring) as Executive Director, Allison has grown the organization's visibility and created effective community partnerships and strategic alliances within the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. During her tenure, the agency's hospice support and bereavement programs have expanded significantly, and CaringMatters has become a recognized leader for community education on topics related to serious illness, end-of-life, loss and grief, and advance care planning. Allison serves on many community-wide committees and coalitions including her current role as the co-chair of the Montgomery County Palliative Care and End-of-Life Coalition.

Before joining CaringMatters, Allison served as the Deputy Director at The Center for Adoption Support and Education (CASE), a nonprofit organization that provides education and counseling for families touched by foster care and adoption.  Prior to that, she was the Director of Kensington Wheaton Youth Services, a school-based prevention and early intervention program of EveryMind. (formerly the Mental Health Association of Montgomery County).  Her professional experience also includes Prince William County Public Schools (Virginia) as the coordinator of substance abuse and violence prevention programs and The Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (Baltimore) as a therapist and supervisor for their outpatient substance abuse and co-occurring disorders program.  In the early 1990s, Allison was selected by the National Association of Community Health Centers for a fellowship in Community Health Administration, and through that, she spent two years working for a federally qualified health center (FQHC) in Southern California.

Allison holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Boston University and a Master of Public Health from The Johns Hopkins University.  She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Maryland and a graduate of Leadership Montgomery Class of 2010.