{"id":3415,"date":"2022-12-07T09:38:50","date_gmt":"2022-12-07T14:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3415"},"modified":"2022-12-07T09:38:50","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T14:38:50","slug":"coming-full-circle-ophelias-place-founder-to-retire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3415","title":{"rendered":"Coming full-circle: Ophelia\u2019s Place founder to retire"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ashley M. Casey<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Associate Editor<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

MaryEllen Clausen first announced her retirement from Ophelia\u2019s Place more than 10 years ago \u2014 on the cover of the first-anniversary issue of Syracuse Woman Magazine<\/i>, no less \u2014 but she found herself unable to step away from the Liverpool-based nonprofit she founded. Now, a decade later, she is calling it quits for good.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve cried \u2018wolf\u2019 too many times,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Clausen is stepping down at the end of the year from Ophelia\u2019s Place, which offers resources to those struggling with eating disorders and promotes a healthier culture around body image. Her daughter, Holli Zehring, is taking her place as CEO.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If a recent email to Ophelia\u2019s Place supporters announcing the changing of the guard is any indication, Clausen seems to prefer the word \u201ctransition\u201d to \u201cretirement.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m ready to retire. I\u2019m always going to want to do meaningful, purposeful work, but the organization is ready for me to retire and pass it onto Holli,\u201d Clausen said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Previously, Zehring was the director of Ophelia\u2019s Place West, located in Gilbert, Arizona \u2014 just outside of Phoenix \u2014 where she resides with her family.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As teenagers, Zehring and her sister, Nicole, were both struggling with eating disorders. Frustrated at the difficulty their family encountered accessing mental health services, Zehring and Clausen founded Ophelia\u2019s Place in 2002. Clausen opened Caf\u00e9 at 407 in 2009 to provide a funding stream for the nonprofit organization.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As she withdraws from day-to-day operations at Ophelia\u2019s Place and the caf\u00e9, Clausen is writing a book about her experience with both enterprises. \u201cA Caf\u00e9 with a Cause\u201d will offer nonprofit leaders an inside look at how to generate revenue.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think more and more nonprofits have to be thinking about sustainability from that perspective,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s so hard \u2014 it takes so much energy to fundraise. It often takes you away from the mission of the organization.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Clausen said her daughter has a great vision for Ophelia\u2019s Place and is \u201cmore than ready to take over the organization.\u201d Zehring said her short-term goals for the nonprofit are to continue raising awareness of eating disorders, identifying the gaps in resources, and relaunching the organization\u2019s digital course, which focuses on the relationship between eating disorders and the greater culture. The course can help people in their recovery process as well as mental health professionals trying to gain a better understanding of the topic.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Looking back, Clausen said Ophelia\u2019s Place not only helped her family persevere through Holli and Nicole\u2019s own eating disorders, but it helped Clausen cope with her own anxiety. Over time, the nonprofit\u2019s mission has expanded to address the stigma of other mental health conditions and push back against diet culture and shame.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m grateful to the community for believing in the work,\u201d she said. \u201cI think we definitely have evolved over the years and hopefully we\u2019ve shed a light on the stigma of mental illness.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Clausen said she is grateful for everyone who has passed through the doors of 407 Tulip St., from customers and clients to employees and community supporters.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve all kind of left a piece of themselves in the caf\u00e9,\u201d Clausen said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Clausen\u2019s best bit of advice for Zehring and the next generation of the nonprofit\u2019s leaders? \u201cLook at failure from a different lens.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe failed a lot over the years and tried things that didn\u2019t work, but also those were my greatest opportunities for learning and resilience,\u201d Clausen said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard especially in the nonprofit world because you feel like, \u2018I can\u2019t fail \u2014 we have to keep our doors open.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One of those \u201cfailures,\u201d Clausen said, was the caf\u00e9\u2019s struggle to stay afloat in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Caf\u00e9 at 407 was forced to close for three months in the spring of 2020, and the caf\u00e9 shuttered once again in December 2020 after facing a $25,000 shortfall. The caf\u00e9 piloted a mini-marketplace for local goods, which did not pan out.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe created a model that didn\u2019t necessarily work,\u201d Clausen said, adding that such experiences taught her, \u201cI might not know what I do want to do, but I know what I don\u2019t want to do.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, the caf\u00e9 was able to reopen in February 2021. Looking ahead, Zehring is focusing on shoring up the organization and caf\u00e9\u2019s financial sustainability.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe organization can\u2019t depend on one person or one thing. We have to have a variety of contributors and revenue streams,\u201d Zehring said. \u201cFor a long time, it was just [my mom] keeping the organization going and I\u2019ve seen the toll it\u2019s taken on her. We need to carry this load together.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Zehring said she is inspired by Adrienne Maree Brown\u2019s book, \u201cEmergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds,\u201d which invites people to help themselves and the world by embracing change.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMicro actions can lead to macro change,\u201d Zehring said. \u201cIf we can solve this problem in a community, then we can solve a lot of problems and make people\u2019s lives better.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With the year \u2014 and Clausen\u2019s tenure \u2014 drawing to a close, Zehring and Clausen are asking Central New Yorkers to keep Ophelia\u2019s Place in mind during the gift-giving season. Supporters can donate directly or purchase gift boxes and local goods at the caf\u00e9.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe cafe has contributed $55,315 to Ophelia\u2019s Place this year and we are asking the community to match it with end-of-year contributions,\u201d Clausen said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To donate directly to the organization, visit opheliasplace.org\/give\u00a0or stop by Caf\u00e9 at 407, which is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The caf\u00e9 is located at 407 Tulip St. in the village of Liverpool. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ashley M. Casey Associate Editor MaryEllen Clausen first announced her retirement from Ophelia\u2019s Place more than 10 years ago \u2014 on the cover of the first-anniversary issue of Syracuse Woman Magazine, no less \u2014 but she found herself unable to step away from the Liverpool-based nonprofit she founded. Now, a decade later, she is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1143],"tags":[460,1330,1337,461],"class_list":["post-3415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspire","tag-cafe-at-407","tag-december-2022","tag-maryellen-clausen","tag-ophelias-place"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/OP-MaryEllen-Clausen-Alice-G-Patterson-photo.jpeg?fit=1500%2C2248&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2864,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2864","url_meta":{"origin":3415,"position":0},"title":"SELF-CARE Ophelia\u2019s Place carries a message of self-empowerment","author":"Staff","date":"March 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Nichole A. 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