CAPITAL REGION CARES

the expertise ,” Heintz says . She says Stanford had ended its own adoption program years ago to focus on providing a wide range of counseling and therapeutic care in group settings and foster care after purchasing an agency that specializes in mental health treatment . But Heintz says they were still too small to provide the level of programming regulators called for .

“ There are lots of organizations like ( Sierra Forever Families ) without the infrastructure to survive ,” she says . “ The merger gave us a more diversified revenue stream that ensures sustainability . We are at a good place , but just want to keep our efficiency .”

Like Heintz , Jeff Dern , president and CEO of PRIDE Industries , merged with a much smaller organization earlier this year and says their shared culture and reputation were more important than the difference in their balance sheets .

“ There are so many similarities between us that merging with PWI was a no-brainer ,” says Dern of the San Diego-based organization Partnerships

with Industry that provides employment and training services for people with disabilities . “ We have a lot of healthy synergistic relationships with them . We already had a presence in San Diego and wanted to grow , and we can add logistics and manufacturing ability they don ’ t have .”

Both organizations are dedicated to developing jobs for the disabled . The two initially partnered on a joint project loading provisions onto Naval ships and maintaining the operating systems in the 29-story San Diego County courthouse . Dern thinks the relationship will be able to grow even more by leveraging PWI ’ s relationships in the market — there ’ s a demand for medical devices in San Diego , for example , that would fit nicely with PRIDE ’ s manufacturing capabilities .

The physical integration of both Stanford Sierra Youth & Families ’ and PRIDE Industries ’ mergers occurred during the pandemic , which presented a wide range of logistical problems , including combining different HR systems and

operating procedures during a time when many employees were working from home . But the biggest challenge for both has been figuring out their new identities .

“ Ultimately , our decision was to re-create the organization and we are different than either one of us were ,” Heintz says .

“ It takes a lot of work to bring one company into another ,” says Dern , who has several hundred employees in every department , from HR to IT , dedicated to the task . He says respectful and inviting communication is critical . “ It ’ s a task that never ends .”

Bill Sessa has been a freelance writer for Comstock ’ s since 2013 . He has received many awards for his writing about the automotive industry and motorsports for national publications including Speed Sport , Autoweek and Performance Racing Industry magazines and for the Napa Valley Register .

SHUTTERSTOCK ILLUSTRATION