Margo Spence, MS, LSW, CCDCIII-E, is the Executive Director of First Step Home, Inc. First Step Home is a residential Substance Abuse Treatment Facility for homeless and low-income women and their children. The agency houses 16 women in residential services and 25 in transitional housing at three locations in Cincinnati. Ms. Spence was named Director in 2001 after 14 years with Talbert House in which she served in several senior management positions including Director of Women’s Treatment and Corrections where she managed three, twenty bed, female halfway houses. She was also responsible for the Women’s Treatment Minimum Security Jail Program.
   
Ms. Spence’s employment history includes employment at the Hamilton County Community Action Agency where she coordinated a program entitled “Project Self Sufficiency” and nine years at Hillcrest School, Juvenile Court as Supervisor of Aftercare Programming for Adolescent Girls.
   
Her professional credits include panel participation in London, England on the use of Volunteers in Residential Programming. In 1993, she was a consultant for the National Institute of Corrections and was recently named to the Hamilton County Corrections Planning Board for fiscal year 2004. Ms. Spence also serves as President of the Board of Trustees for Recovery Link.
   
Her educational credentials include a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Science degree in Corrections from Xavier University. Ms. Spence is a Licensed Social Worker and is a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor with Clinical Supervision.
    
MS. Spence is married to Larry Spence and is the mother of Carmen and Dorian Spence. Her hobbies are walking, reading, gardening and traveling.
   
Welcome Margo to BCW and congratulations on your professional achievements.
   
SALUTE! 
   
And continued success, Margo Spence.