OneEighty Director to Retire, Leaving 44 Year Local Legacy
OneEighty’s board announced on December 3 that longtime executive director Bobbi Douglas will retire in summer 2026 after nearly 44 years with the organization. Her departure will mark a leadership transition for a major provider of domestic violence, sexual assault and substance abuse services that serves Holmes and Wayne counties.
The OneEighty board announced December 3 that Bobbi Douglas, MSSA, who began with the agency in 1982 and became executive director in 1985, will retire in summer 2026. Douglas led the organization through mergers and program expansion over four decades, and the board has set a goal of naming a successor to be in place by the retirement date to preserve continuity of services.
Under Douglas’s tenure OneEighty expanded its scope beyond emergency shelter to include comprehensive supports for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and stepped up services for people with substance use disorders. Her leadership included creation of the Gault Liberty Center, and she led multiple capital campaigns to increase capacity in residential addiction recovery shelters and related programs. The organization built and maintained partnerships across Wayne and Holmes counties that local social service providers and county agencies now rely on.
For Holmes County residents the transition has immediate operational and economic implications. OneEighty delivers direct services that reduce pressure on county emergency rooms and law enforcement, and expanded shelter and recovery capacity affects local labor market participation and household stability. Leadership change can influence fundraising momentum and grant relationships that support these programs, particularly in the final phases of ongoing capital initiatives. The board’s stated timeline for a successor by summer 2026 is intended to reduce risks to service delivery and donor confidence during the handover.
The retirement also arrives amid longer term trends that have increased demand for trauma informed care and substance use treatment in rural communities. Sustaining program capacity will depend on continued public and private funding, staff recruitment and retention in social service roles, and the new director’s ability to maintain the partnerships Douglas developed over decades.
The board will lead a search to fill the executive director position while Douglas continues in her role through the transition period. For Holmes County residents and partner agencies the next 18 months will shape how OneEighty sustains its expanded services and completes current capital and program goals established during Douglas’s nearly 44 year tenure.
