Former Guild School executive director awarded Sister Peter Claver Humanitarian Award

The former executive director of the Spokane Guilds’ School, now called Joya Child and Family Development, was recently given the 2019 Sister Peter Claver Humanitarian Award by Providence Health Care.

Claver headed Sacred Heart Medical Center for 33 years, and every year an award is given in her honor to someone who has shown extraordinary leadership and commitment to the poor and vulnerable.

Dick Boysen retired from Joya in June after more than 41 years spent at the helm of the organization that provides early intervention services to children from birth to age three who have developmental delays and disabilities.

It was only a quirk of fate that led Boysen to the organization that would become his life’s work. In 1977, he was the education director for the Head Start program in Spokane County when a friend told him about the open executive director position and suggested he apply.

“I really didn’t know anything about it,” Boysen said.

He quickly realized that the Spokane Guilds’ School was a place where he could make a difference. “The thing at Head Start is I always felt overwhelmed,” he said. “It was hard to see I was making a difference.”

Boysen is proud to say that last year 51% of the kids attending Joya met developmental milestones on or before their third birthday and were discharged from the program. Boysen said early intervention is key because it is before age three when children’s brains are better able to recover from injuries or learn to rewire themselves.

“A lot of it is common sense,” he said. “You just have to look at the individual child’s strengths and weaknesses.”

The teachers and therapists at Joya can’t simply sit down with kids and explain to them what they need to do and why, he said. “With kids you have to be tricky,” he said. “You can’t reason with them because they don’t have the language and cognitive skills.”

It was the kids and the parents who kept him going for four decades, Boysen said. “The parents are amazing,” he said. “The kids are fascinating because they have so many different needs. Some of these kids have really significant issues.”

One of the largest projects Boysen started is still ongoing. The organization is looking to move to the former St. Joseph’s Family Center located just east of Gonzaga University, which was purchased in 2017 for $2.2 million.

Boysen said he was looking for a location in the University District. “I looked at every piece of property in the U District for 10 years,” he said.

The move has been a long time coming. The organization’s lease at its current location on West Garland Avenue is up in 2022. While purchasing the site was an option, there wasn’t enough land to do a needed expansion, Boysen said.

The former St. Joseph’s Family Center is ideal because it is nearly at the exact center of the county, Boysen said. The site spans several acres and includes four cottages and an administration building. Joya plans to use one building for an administration building and tear the rest down and replace them with a large, two-story facility to serve their students.

Joya has raised about $8.5 million of the $18.5 million needed to start construction. Boysen said he plans to volunteer to help with that effort whenever he’s asked. That will probably include reaching out to people he knows to ask for donations. “You don’t do something for 40 years and not get to know some people,” he said.

Boysen said he was previously nominated for the Sister Peter Claver Humanitarian Award 11 years ago and at the time found himself in awe of the other nominees. “Quite frankly, I felt the same way this time,” he said. “I was pretty shocked when I was told I was going to be the recipient.”

Boysen was able to meet Sister Peter Claver several times before she died in 1991. “Each time she went out of her way to tell me what great work we were doing,” he said. “She was a kind woman and also a very powerful woman.”

He’s heard stories over the years about her determination and dedication and said he’s honored to receive the award named after her. “It’s a very humbling experience,” he said. “They honor this woman to this day, 30 years after her death.”