Erin O’Brien took the long, hard route to the top
Morgan Hill – There are people who exist as a guiding light for those in need. Erin O’Brien is one of those people.
O’Brien, 44, serves as CEO for the non-profit Community Solutions that aims to help those in need throughout South County. Perched on her chair, O’Brien’s passion and dedication for the job shines through a desk cluttered with papers.
A picture frame of her three children, 19-year-old twin daughters and a 20-year-old son sits upon a bookshelf crammed with books and binders.
In her blue crocheted sweater and white top, O’Brien smiles as speaks of how she came to be where she is today.
Founded in 1972, the organization first served as a teen drop-in center.
Throughout the years, Community Solutions evolved into a community-based organization designed to help others through, a wide range programs services including prevention and education, counseling, domestic abuse assistance, housing needs for families and individuals and much more.
A native of California, O’Brien was born in San Francisco and raised in the East Bay only to locate to South County when she married 26-years ago.
And, she said, it’s her children that bring the biggest smile to her face.
“My kids are just a joy,”said, noting the dates with her children where they would an enjoy an evening together doing such things as dinner or a movie while catching up on the latest in their lives.
Being busy students who are also working, she stresses the difficulty in sitting down and talking to her children. “We just know it’s time,” she said.
But life for O’Brien wasn’t always so blissful and rewarding. With a GED in her hand at 18, O’Brien worked a variety of jobs to get by, including a stint as a hostess.
“I realized I was not qualified to do what I was interested in,” she said.
It was at 30, however, when she decided she wanted to go back to school. Her first two undergraduate years were spent at Gavilan College Then she went on to San Jose State University.
O’Brien said she didn’t know what she wanted to do when she began and even looked into personality tests to try and determine her direction in life. A vague answer gave her no solution.
“I had no clue when I went to college what I wanted to but I wanted it to be interesting and meaningful,” she said.
She soon realized she wanted to work with and help others.
“Everything that interested me had to do with people,” she said.
With that in mind, her fierce determination led her to earning a degree in humanities. O’Brien said school helped her narrow down her choices and find something she loved. She earned her Master’s degree in 1997.
Her work in Community Solutions began during her second year of school while doing a clinical internship.
“I absolutely fell in love with the work, fell in love with the clients and fell in love with the agency,” she said.
After graduation, O’Brien was offered a job and started in the children’s mental health program. Over the last several years O’Brien continued her work in the organization in a range of areas including a one-month run in the County Mental Health Administration as program coordinator.
From there, O’Brien spent another 10 to 11 months working in program solutions and later as COO for Community Solutions.
She’s been serving as CEO for about a year.
“I love being a part of Community Solutions and what we do for the community,” she said.
O’Brien noted there was no place else she wanted to be and laughed when saying that even when she edges closer to retirement, they’ll have to drag her out feet first.
“You have to be driven,” she said of her line of work. “You can’t do it without ethics, passion and vision.”
By Kimberly Adams Special to the Dispatch
