M. Grace Ryder, Ph.D.
Director of Best Practices and Strategic Initiatives, Children's Crisis Treatment Center
“My commitment to advancing trauma-informed care has shown me that meaningful change in behavioral health is essential and requires collaboration, humility, and a willingness to rethink existing systems in order to strengthen supports for children, families, and communities. I am motivated to be involved with the Scattergood Foundation because its mission to center behavioral health, advance equity, and recognize the strengths inherent in vulnerable communities align deeply with the work I have dedicated my career to leading.”
M. Grace Ryder, Ph.D., is the Director of Best Practices and Strategic Initiatives at Children’s Crisis Treatment Center (CCTC), a private nonprofit agency specializing in trauma-informed mental health services for children and their families. A licensed psychologist with more than 40 years of experience in nonprofit child and family mental health services, Dr. Ryder has worked across outpatient, school-based, foster care, partial hospitalization, and residential settings, providing evaluations as well as individual, group, and family treatment.
Dr. Ryder earned her master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1985 and her doctoral degree from Temple University in 1994. For more than 25 years, she has held leadership roles in nonprofit mental health agencies, where she has developed, implemented, and directed treatment programs serving children and their families.
As a member of CCTC’s executive management team, Dr. Ryder leads the development and implementation of programmatic and agency-wide strategic initiatives. Most notably, she championed the implementation of the Sanctuary Model at CCTC, contributing to the agency’s recognition as a leader in trauma-informed care.
Fun Fact: I find great joy in fostering dogs and providing respite for those who find themselves placed at the city’s animal shelter.