Queens Community House Appoints Robin Veenstra-VanderWeele as First Chief Program Officer

Queens, NY — Queens Community House (QCH), one of the borough’s largest nonprofit organizations, has announced the promotion of Robin Veenstra-VanderWeele to the newly created position of Chief Program Officer (CPO). This strategic role was established to further integrate and strengthen QCH’s 60+ programs across its borough-wide network of sites and services.
As CPO, Veenstra-VanderWeele will oversee the four Associate Executive Directors responsible for QCH’s core program areas: Youth Services, Young Adult Services, Community Services, and Older Adult Services. Her leadership will help ensure that all QCH programs are not only aligned with the organization’s mission and strategic goals but also responsive to the evolving needs of the communities QCH serves.

“The creation of the Chief Program Officer role marks an important milestone for QCH as we continue to grow in scope and complexity,” said Ben Thomases, QCH's Executive Director. “The creation of this senior leadership position signals QCH's evolution from a collection of programs to a more integrated service delivery model, enabling greater coordination, resource sharing, and impact measurement across departments.

"Robin brings an exceptional combination of vision, discipline, and heart to this new role," he continued. "Her passion for our mission, deep operational knowledge, and proven ability to lead across departments make her uniquely equipped to help us build the next chapter of QCH.”

Veenstra-VanderWeele has served as Associate Executive Director for Youth Services at QCH for the past four years, where she has demonstrated outstanding leadership in both program innovation and staff development. She has also contributed to organization-wide initiatives, including the design and launch of a new management training program, and most recently, provided interim leadership to QCH’s Older Adult Services department. In her new role, she will take the lead in advancing programmatic innovation, helping QCH pilot and scale new approaches that address emerging challenges and improve outcomes across all service areas.

Veenstra-VanderWeele's career spans more than two decades in public and nonprofit leadership roles. Before joining QCH, she served as Chief Program Officer at Partnership with Children, and earlier in her career held key positions in Nashville as Director of Child and Youth Initiatives in the Mayor’s Office and as Promise Neighborhood Director at the Martha O’Brien Center—roles that align with QCH’s holistic, integrated model of service delivery.

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About Queens Community House:

Queens Community House is one of the borough's largest nonprofit organizations, committed to serving the diverse neighborhoods of Queens. Serving more than 26,000 children, youth, adults, and older adults every year, QCH provides individuals and families with the tools to enrich their lives and build healthy, inclusive communities. Through a broad network of programs operating out of 40 sites in 15 neighborhoods, QCH offers Queens residents a needed support system at every stage of life, helping them to develop the knowledge, confidence, and skills to change their lives for the better and become active participants in their larger community. QCH opened its doors in 1975 and is excited to celebrate 50 years of impact and community building across the borough this year.