National Leader in Children’s Grief Services Network Announces Retirement from Central Florida’s New Hope for Kids

Organization Begins Transition to Interim Leadership, Launches National Search

Maitland, Florida (March 21, 2023) – Dave Joswick, founding board member and executive director of New Hope for Kids and a national leader in children’s grief services, has announced he will retire at the end of January 2024.

Joswick has been engaged in central Florida’s non-profit community for decades and helped found New Hope for Kids more than 20 years ago to provide free grief services to children who have experienced the death of a loved one and to grant wishes to children with life-shortening health conditions. Under Joswick’s leadership, New Hope for Kids has become one of the preeminent grief services providers in the country, delivering free grief services to more than 9,300 of central Florida’s children and granting 1,720 wishes.

Joswick’s accomplishments with New Hope for Kids are many. During 2015, he led a successful capital campaign that secured a new home for the organization in Maitland — the New Hope for Kids Center for Grieving Children—where the organization fulfills its mission every day. Joswick’s leadership was also instrumental in navigating the organization’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the rollout of virtual grief services and extended the reach of the organization beyond central Florida. In May 2020, the Orlando Sentinel recognized Joswick as one of “10 People Who Make Orlando a Better Place to Live.”

“New Hope for Kids answered my prayers to find good in my son John’s death and has blessed me with the opportunity to support grieving children throughout this community,” says Joswick. “It has been a tremendous honor to see our grief program take children from expressions of sadness and anger to smiles and laughter, and in retirement, I look forward to seeing New Hope expand its footing in the central Florida school systems so that more children can be supported through this very difficult time in their lives.”

As Joswick prepares for retirement over the next several months, he will transition select responsibilities to current director of marketing and volunteers, Gloria Capozzi, who has served New Hope for Kids since 2011. During this interim period, Capozzi will assume the role of associate director for the organization, and the board of directors will commence a nationwide search for its next executive director. Following retirement, Joswick will remain active as a member of the board of directors for New Hope for Kids.

“Dave truly does make central Florida a better place to live, and we look forward to celebrating his long and successful career,” says Chris Tribbey, chair of New Hope for Kids’ Board of Directors. “As an organization, we plan to make Dave proud as we continue to grow and fulfill our mission. Thanks to his vision and hard work, New Hope for Kids will provide the grieving hearts in our community with a welcoming place to heal for many years to come.”

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 New Hope for Kids is the largest independent child-based grief support program in Central Florida.  It serves as a community resource providing grief support for those who have lost a loved one by death and by granting wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses – all of whom are right here in Central Florida. For more information, visit www.newhopeforkids.org