Jody Grutza

Jody serves as the CEO of GPS Consulting Group, where she leverages her extensive experience in human services, technical assistance, strategic planning, and organizational development that drive transformative change across public and private sectors.

With Jody at the helm, GPS is leading strategic growth for BAYS, a non-profit, as they diversify their unique business models and expand juvenile justice and child welfare services in Florida and beyond.This includes the development of two three-year strategic plans for BAYS, consultative support regarding their organizational redesign, grant applications, merger and acquisition support, and more.

Jody was also a subject matter expert consultant for the former Child Welfare Capacity Building Center for States (Center). Throughout her time with the Center, she led various projects focused on partnerships between state organizations and non-profit providers. She provided customized technical assistance for each project. Jody was deployed to Arizona to provide support for the Administration for Children’s Services partnerships with foster families and residential group care. In addition, she provided support to Hawaii, Louisiana, and Washington through communications and stakeholder engagement related to Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) implementation. Jody has also supported projects in California, Florida, and Oklahoma related to communications and stakeholder engagement with the federal CFSR through the Center. Jody also supported strategic communications efforts related to the roll out of the Florida Academy for Child Protection and Family Resiliency as well. Each project included customized technical assistance that led to improved partnerships and productivity related to the subject matter.

Jody provided support for the Oregon Department of Human Services in communications and stakeholder engagement related to their Vision for Transformation in child welfare, once again focusing on the importance of productive partnership development.

Jody also led the GPS team in the UMA EAGLE Thrive initiative, supporting a Steering Committee of national Methodist providers in children’s services and aging adults as they completed a strategic update of their accreditation manual. This project included various meeting settings, conflict resolution, and the development of agreements and models for working together.

Jody provided strategic consultative support to A Thousand Joys, a non-profit organization that forms powerful partnerships to shift how educators and service providers engage with youth and families. They incorporate mental health, educational, and leadership expertise to intentionally build an organization’s capacity to counteract trauma and to cultivate resilience.

Jody led the strategic planning for the Virginia Department of Social Services along with the writing of their federal reports to include the Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP) and Annual Progress and Services Report (APSR) in 2019. GPS more recently supported the latest five-year strategic plan and federal report submissions for 2025-2029. Jody was also selected to support Virginia’s kinship reform efforts and the implementation of the Family Seeing framework. In addition, Jody is a consultant through Casey Family Programs supporting the Evolution project in Virginia.  The project is focused on creating a seamless support system for families regardless of their point of entry. Each Virginia project also focused on bringing together public and private partners together to problem solve and develop concrete plans for future activities.

Prior to founding the GPS Consulting Group, Jody spearheaded the administration, strategic planning, and execution of a county-wide Community-Based Care contract responsible for the safety and well-being of over 4,000 children as the Executive Director of Eckerd Connects - Hillsborough. In this leadership role, she oversaw a $70M+ contract with the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) and maximized service capabilities for at-risk children by guiding staff and community partners in supporting families in high-risk foster care cases. Jody also held additional C-Suite positions at Eckerd Connects to include Chief Strategy Officer and Chief External Relations Officer for the corporate office, serving children and families nationally with an annual budget of $200M. As the Chief Strategy Officer, she was responsible for the development and execution of the organizational strategic plan. Eckerd provided a variety of human services across the country to include Head Start.

Previously, as the Deputy Director of Strategic Planning and Innovation at the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS), Jody steered the strategic roadmap to overhaul the DCFS system. This plan, partially in response to the 26-year standing Federal BH Consent Decree in Illinois, received unprecedented support of and coordination with the Plaintiff’s Council and Court Appointed Experts.  She also assisted with the Governor’s Health and Human Services Transformation.

Jody’s national experience also includes strategic planning, technical assistance, and facilitation with the National Governors Association as a Senior Policy Analyst supporting Governor’s offices and their teams in high-level systems change to improve child and family services. Jody also acted as a liaison between child welfare directors nationally and Congress as well as the federal government at the American Public Human Services Association where she worked closely with early childhood policy staff.

A certified facilitator through Technology of Participation, Jody specializes in stakeholder engagement, strategic communications, and partnership development. She holds a Master of Social Work degree with a certificate in Non-Profit Management from Eastern Michigan University and a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development from Eckerd College.

Jody’s career has been focused on building partnerships, and providing technical assistance for a variety of clients that include state and local jurisdictions, as well as a variety of both large and small non-profit organizations. She has extensive experience facilitating productive discussions that result in relationship building and action steps. In addition, throughout her career, Jody has developed expertise in communications and stakeholder engagement, a critical component of any successful large scale, complex project. Jody has also successfully managed projects throughout her time at or working with non-profits that were grant funded.

Jody's unique blend of public sector expertise, non-profit leadership, and consulting acumen makes her particularly effective in bridging gaps between organizations and fostering collaborative solutions that drive meaningful change in human services.