MEET THE STAFF
Vivian D. Harmon, M.Ed., MSW, LSW
Senior Director
Training and Development Institute
Vivian D. Harmon is a New Jersey Licensed Social Worker with 20 years of diligent service to youth, adults and families. Vivian has extensive experience in various settings including adolescent residential care, secondary and higher education student services, and Intensive in Community Counseling. She has committed her education and career to empowering youth and families through education, trauma-informed and strengths based therapies, advocacy, and civic engagement.
Vivian received her BA from Rutgers University’s Douglass College, majoring in Political Science, and invested her elective studies in Africana & Women’s Studies. She received a Master’s Degree in Education with a concentration in Instructional Technology from American InterContinental University. She also achieved a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Rutgers University’s Graduate
School of Social Work, with a concentration in Direct Practice with Children and Families.
During her tenure as the Assistant Director of Student Services at Emily Fisher Charter School in Trenton, NJ, Vivian was responsible for developing an alternative education program for at-risk students in an effort to reduce cohort rates of recidivism in the NJ Juvenile Justice system; in addition to increasing retention and graduate rates. During her time at EFCS, Vivian was integral in developing a drop-in counseling center for students and parents (for individual, group and family therapy); a school-wide policy to promote awareness, advocacy and an affirming school community for LGBTQIA youth; and a Rite of Passage group for female students with programmatic thrusts in education, civic engagement, and sisterhood.
Vivian most recently served as the Interim Director of Program Operations at LifeTies, Inc. In this role, she oversaw all housing, services and treatment programs under the umbrella of LifeTies, Inc. which was establish over 40 years ago in service to youth and families in New Jersey. Prior to this role, she served for many years as the Director of Group Home Services, overseeing the Rainbow and Triad House programs, managing a team of 25 direct care and social work professionals. Both 24-hour residential homes are committed to the mission of empowering at-risk youth in four distinct categories: LGBTQIA, youth with chronic health conditions; pregnant and parenting youth; and youth with histories of trauma, emotional and behavioral challenges. In her role at LifeTies, Vivian ensured the delivery of quality service to youth; spearheaded efforts to achieve successful national accreditation through CARF; and the development of new programming and services to grow the agency’s capacity to serve a greater community of NJ youth.
Over the next decade of her career, Vivian will be steadfast in furthering her commitment to the advancement of individuals, families, and groups who have been and continue to be disenfranchised while also being an ambassador for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. It is her personal philosophy that every individual has the ability to attain greatness in all its forms. In order to achieve this greatness, it requires 3 basic things: the desire for greatness, the tenacity for the journey, and the unwavering support of committed persons.
