Irish S. Burch has served as Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC) President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since January 2021. A native of the Southern Dallas area with more than 25 years of experience, Burch has worked tirelessly for the past two decades at both the local and state levels to advocate for these children.
"And that means showing up in a way that not only am I there to ensure that I am power myself, but I'm there to ensure that I'm empowering the others that are coming along beside me,” Burch said. “You don't just come in and sit at the table and say, now that I'm here its over. My job is to reach back, pull the next person along with me, hold the door open for the next one and be an ally to someone else."
DCAC is the only agency of its kind fighting child abuse in Dallas County and serves more than 8,000 people each year who have experienced the devastating ramifications of child abuse. 1 in 5 children will be sexually abused, often by someone they know and trust.
“It’s also about what do we do to wrap around our arms around the entire family, not just the alleged victim but the siblings and the caregiver, and the protective caregivers,” Burch said.
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In 1994, she began her career as a CPS investigator, where she then learned about DCAC and was inspired by the organization’s approach, as well as its forensic interview process. In 2003, Burch joined the DCAC team as a forensic interviewer and continued to build her career with the agency, eventually assuming the Chief Partner Relations Officer role where she thrived facilitating the collaboration of all the necessary aspects of a client’s experience at DCAC to create the most holistic approach possible.
In 2017, Burch moved to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Texas in Austin to fight child abuse at the state level. During this time, Burch provided leadership and support for the 71 Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) of Texas, with emphasis in programmatic and multidisciplinary team guidance and support. She provided direction and oversight of the CACTX training program, the statewide online case management system and various strategic initiatives, such as child sex trafficking.
A storied career with another goal in mind. Being passionate about protecting her employees and their mental health while working at such an intense, mission-focused organization.
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"I love servicing our community and now to be on this side of it knowing that not only can I impact the manner in which which we show up in the community and serve our community, I now we can impact a manner in which we serve the people that do the work every single day. I sat in that seat and I know what it's like and now to be able to truly make an impact and how I show up and how they are able to show up every day is absolutely a dream come true for me,” Burch said.
To avoid burnout, she stresses the importance of intentional, honest communication, as well as encouraging employees to take full advantage of all resources offered to them - such as wellness leave, vacation time and more.
