Solving problems for a stronger society

Our human services team operates impactful programs on behalf of state and local agencies, empowering families to overcome barriers and achieve self-sufficiency. 

Prior to her retirement from Maximus in 2024, Kelly Blaschke Treharne managed a broad portfolio of services in support of government safety-net programs across the nation and led a team of passionate and committed human services professionals who were inspired by her leadership and mentorship.

With over 30 years of hands-on experience working in a variety of roles across human services, Kelly honed her instincts for understanding and resolving client challenges. Leaning on innovation and the power of strategic collaboration, Kelly inspired and led others in bridging the gaps for vulnerable populations and fostering thriving, healthy communities. 

We connected with Kelly to learn more about her perspective on the challenges facing safety net programs and the future of human services.

My first career choices were anthropology or architecture — but I was informed abruptly that those kinds of jobs were not suited for women. I grew up in an environment that did not value higher education for women, and I had to fight to go to college. It wasn't easy. I was the first woman in my family to earn a college degree, an experience that has profoundly influenced me. Throughout my career, I stayed committed to finding ways to empower people and helping people remove barriers to enable them to reach their potential.

The realization that I had a passion and the necessary skills for helping people identify and solve problems led to me becoming a caseworker. As a community advocate, I had the opportunity to work with some of the Milwaukee's most vulnerable populations who were facing significant challenges. In time, I grew into more influential positions where I could guide programs and develop better methods for solving societal challenges.

The insights I gained as a caseworker, advocate, and program guide translated directly into my next set of roles, where I focused more on operations. That experience put me on the path to my career at Maximus — where I led a great team with a culture that strongly values the ability to think laterally, find new ways of addressing stubborn problems, and develop programs that deliver real-world results.

The human services sector hasn’t seen significant legislative policy changes since the mid-2000s. Granted there are acknowledgements and conversations taking place but given all the populations that (often disparate) funding sources are expected serve, it’s a difficult and complex situation. We recognize that families will still need services through safety-net programs. And when and where we can, we’ll continue to lean on private, public, and nonprofit collaboration to fill the gaps and serve whole families.

We’re navigating a period where the integration of health, housing, employment, childcare, and education services is critical to advancing economic mobility. In my experience operating government programs, we saw better outcomes for families when we elevated above and across traditionally siloed services.

A long time ago, the public, private, and nonprofit sectors recognized that we all can’t do this work by ourselves. When Maximus works in a community, we know it’s important to build relationships with nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, and community organizers. The stronger those relationships are, the better we’re prepared to understand and work with the families we serve — from a whole family and often multi-generation perspective.

My team's commitment to public service and ability to adapt to change often inspired me. There was  a willingness to share best practices and bring big ideas, even to contracts we had managed for over 20 years.

Looking back, we always brought understanding and passion to our work — it’s who we were as a team — but we paired that with evolving data analytics and technology to deliver tailored services and more precisely measured impacts.

To continue building healthy, thriving communities not only will Maximus need dedicated and compassionate teams, but also a holistic approach to services. We're starting to see states acknowledge the role of integrated health and human services in building strong communities. This fuels my optimism because it presents an opportunity for generational impacts for the families we serve.