The longtime CEO of Lighthouse Youth & Family Services plans to retire at the end of the year.
Paul Haffner has led the Cincinnati nonprofit since 2016. He has helped create and implement various programs aimed at ending youth homelessness, opened the Lighthouse Clinic as part of an effort to advance health equity, and increased capacity for youth in its shelters and residential treatment programs through renovation and construction.
During Haffner’s tenure, every Lighthouse location has undergone renovations or received upgrades, including trauma-informed design to create a sense of safety, community, respect and dignity.
Debbie White Richardson, chair of Lighthouse’s board, praised Haffner for his leadership, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he “always put safety first and ensured Lighthouse’s doors stayed open.”
“Paul is a champion of building communities where every young person has the opportunity to thrive,” White Richardson said. “He is a strong leader who remains focused on doing what’s best for those Lighthouse serves, no matter the challenge.”
A tenure of transformation
Haffner joined Lighthouse in 2016 after a 22-year career as a corporate lawyer and business manager with Cincinnati law firms and the Great American Insurance Group.
A member of Leadership Cincinnati Class 39, he previously served as board chair of the Cincinnati Nature Center and on the boards of Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services, Ronald McDonald House of Greater Cincinnati, and the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation’s Ohio chapter. He currently serves as board secretary for the Ohio Children’s Alliance.
Under Haffner’s leadership, Lighthouse has become a “beacon of diversity, equity, and inclusion, principles embedded in its practices and services.” The effort includes continual learning, courageous conversations, closing gender- and race-based wage gaps, and evaluating policies and hiring practices.
Lighthouse plans to continue those initiatives under its next leader when Haffner formally steps down Dec. 31, 2025.
Lighthouse hasn’t announced any formal succession plans. However, the organization noted in its statement that it has already started searching for its next CEO.
“My time at Lighthouse has been the most rewarding of my career,” Haffner said. “It has been a privilege to lead the organization and an honor to work with a team that is passionate about our mission and delivers excellence every day.”
Lighthouse Youth & Family Services
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