Stephanie K. Sterling, LCSW-BACS, is the new executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge effective July 1, 2024.
Before her appointment, she was director of family services at Catholic Charities and rose to that leadership position after joining the agency as an adoption social worker in 2012.
Under her leadership, the Family Services Department obtained the highest accreditation possible as an adoption agency from the prestigious Hague Convention on the Protection of Children. In addition, she has implemented new award-winning services in early-childhood education and parental mentoring.
In addition to adoptions, Stephanie has overseen many signature programs of Catholic Charities such as The Sanctuary for Life, a home for homeless pregnant women, and was instrumental in its expansion to double the capacity of that ministry. She created and implemented a peer-to-peer mentoring program in which family coaches go to the homes of families with children and work in partnership to improve school readiness, early childhood development, and increase parental involvement in their children’s education. That program was recognized by The Aspen Institute and the Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) Disaster Institute as a model of innovation.
Stephanie has also been a leader at the national level through CCUSA, serving as chair of its Children, Youth, and Families Services Steering Committee.
Stephanie serves on the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board and the Louisiana Safe Haven Consortium. She received her BS from Louisiana State University and her MSW from Tulane. She holds a 90-hour post graduate certification from the Hunter College, NY in Adoption and Foster Care Competence. She has presented at local, statewide, and national conferences on Clinical Adoption Practice, Self-Care, Holistic Family Programs, and Disaster Behavioral Health.
She and her husband, Scott, are Baton Rouge residents and have two sons. They have been active members of St. Jude Catholic Church in Baton Rouge for the past 20 years.
