Tracie Clanaugh, Executive Director (Left), Tyra Jaramillo-Kraemer, Associate Director (Right)
First Witness Announces Executive Director Leadership Transition
DULUTH, Minn. — First Witness Child Advocacy Center announces that Executive Director Tracie Clanaugh will retire in March 2027, following more than nine years of transformative leadership.
Clanaugh joined First Witness as Executive Director in 2018 and guided significant growth across the organization. She strengthened programs and community partnerships, expanded prevention and specialized training efforts, and built the organization’s capacity to serve more children, families, and professionals.
Among her most significant accomplishments was leading a capital campaign that raised nearly $4 million, enabling First Witness to purchase and establish a new home. The new facility provides a welcoming, child-centered environment for children and families and the infrastructure needed to sustain First Witness for years to come.
With her leadership, First Witness expanded its reach beyond Southern St. Louis County, establishing a multidisciplinary team agreement with Carlton County in 2020 and a formal services agreement with Lake County in 2023. These agreements have brought coordinated, child-centered responses to abuse closer to children and families throughout the region. Currently, First Witness is working to strengthen partnerships and bring services closer to home in Cook County as well.
Prevention has also been a hallmark of Clanaugh’s leadership. In 2020, First Witness launched the Child Abuse Prevention Coalition with support from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation, bringing community partners together to strengthen local efforts. During her tenure, First Witness strengthened and implemented Safe and Strong Communities, a training program that equips youth-serving agencies, faith communities, and other organizations to recognize, respond to, and report concerns of child abuse.
“Thirty-five years ago, our community made a commitment to children; it has been an honor to carry that commitment forward,” Clanaugh said. “My work with the First Witness staff has deeply humbled me. Their wisdom, expertise, and tireless commitment to our mission leave me honored to work alongside them each day. The First Witness Board of Directors and our Multidisciplinary Teams represent a beacon of hope in our community — a group of committed individuals dedicated to changing our world and working to end child abuse, our nation’s largest social problem.”
Beyond expanding programs and services, Clanaugh helped build a strong, sustainable organization with highly qualified staff, strong systems, and financial resources needed to carry its mission forward.
“I have been so thankful to see, firsthand, the character and leadership of Tracie. She will leave First Witness in a very strong position to continue the work to end child abuse,” said Erin Geary, Chair of the First Witness Board of Directors. First Witness Board of Director’s invites the community to make a donation in honor of Clanaugh’s service by sending a check our visiting our website, www.firstwitness,org.
Following a comprehensive process, the Board has selected Associate Director Tyra Jaramillo-Kraemer as the organization’s next Executive Director. With seven years of dedicated service to First Witness, Jaramillo-Kraemer brings deep knowledge of its programs and operations, strong relationships with regional partners, and a steadfast commitment to its child-centered mission. Clanaugh and Jaramillo-Kraemer will work closely with staff and the Board in the coming months to ensure continuity and a seamless leadership transition.
“Tyra’s formal education in both organizational leadership and victim services brings a unique combination of skills to lead First Witness into its next chapter,” Clanaugh said. “Her steadfast commitment to providing strong, trauma-informed support to her staff team, deep understanding of our unique role in working alongside the child maltreatment system, expertise in both forensic interviewing and advocacy, and ability to weave a lens of cultural humility into everything we do make her an outstanding steward of our mission and vision. First Witness and our community are fortunate to have such an outstanding leader.”
In the months ahead, First Witness will celebrate Clanaugh’s contributions and lasting impact while preparing for the organization’s next chapter under Jaramillo-Kraemer’s leadership.
About First Witness Child Advocacy Center
First Witness Child Advocacy Center strengthens the community’s response to child abuse through child-centered forensic interviews, advocacy for children and families, multidisciplinary team coordination, prevention education, and professional training.