Claire Dees is a respected expert in business administration, event planning, fundraising, and grant writing and is a significant contributor to the nonprofit sector. She is the executive director of Spectrum Autism Support Group Inc. in Duluth, Georgia, assuming the role in 2016 after leading the organization as president from 1998. Additionally, Ms. Dees was the community engagement manager at Parent to Parent of Georgia from 2012 to 2016.
Ms. Dees’ commitments include serving on the board of visitors for Georgia Gwinnett College, being past president of the Duluth Civitan Club, a board member of the Duluth Business Association, and chair of the Community Advisory Committee at the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University. Impressively, she is also a Leadership Gwinnett graduate. In preparation for her career, Ms. Dees earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Presbyterian College in 1978, which laid the groundwork for her extensive career in nonprofit leadership.
Ms. Dees’ achievements have been recognized with various high honors, including being named a finalist for the Moxie Award from the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. Spectrum Autism Support Group also has been a finalist in the Gwinnett Chamber’s Small Business Awards community contributor category for the last several years. Moreover, Ms. Dees received the Autism Achievement Award for Georgia from Georgia State University in 2019, was recognized by The Harris-Gude Foundation in 2022, and was nominated for the Moxie Pay it Forward Award in 2024. She was named Outstanding Club President for Civitan and received the Civitan International Honor Key Award, the highest Civitan honor, in 2024. Attributing her success to a robust support system within her community, Ms. Dees values encouragement from friends and the collaborative spirit among nonprofits, which fosters resource sharing and mutual aid. Her involvement in nonprofit chief executive officer groups, too, provides her with invaluable peer support and encouragement.
Among her most notable achievements, Ms. Dees considers raising $1.5 million in a single year to purchase a building for Spectrum Autism Support Group as her greatest success. This fundraising accomplishment was particularly remarkable given that their typical annual grants are about $200,000, underscoring her effective leadership and strong community backing. Under Ms. Dees’ leadership, Spectrum implemented its first customer relationship management (known as CRM) protocol last year, improving donor and contact management. This is part of the organization’s strategy to expand services and address the needs of the approximately 20,000 people with autism in their county. Spectrum serves about 2,000 individuals and their families annually and is introducing new programs for adults to help bridge this gap.
Looking ahead, Ms. Dees, often viewed as the face of Spectrum Autism Support Group with her small yet devoted team, plans to continue her impactful work into the foreseeable future—focusing on organizational growth, filling in all gaps in support and services, and taking progressive and innovative approaches to developing new programs. Further, she will continue to use her grant writing and fundraising skills to advance Spectrum’s mission in the community. Influenced by examples of community-minded values set by her own family, Ms. Dees exemplifies dedication at work and as a volunteer for other worthy causes. When she is not busy serving others, she enjoys reading, walking, hiking, and crafting.