Phoenix Center founder to pass baton, appoint new CEO
Mary Flanagan, current Chief Operating Officer at the Phoenix Center, will step into her new role as CEO on June 1. Phoenix Center photo
The Phoenix Center will undergo a transition in leadership on June 1 after founder and Chief Executive Officer Sarah Rosen Garrett announced she would be stepping down as CEO at the end of May.
Garrett will pass the baton to current Chief Operating Officer Mary Flanagan, who joined the Marble Falls-based nonprofit in 2025. Flanagan brings a plethora of experience in consulting and corporate strategy, and has served as a CEO and COO in prior roles.
“Mary is a proven and values-driven leader,” Garret said in a press release. “Her experience across both nonprofit and corporate sectors positions her exceptionally well to guide the Phoenix Center into its next phase of growth.”
Garrett will continue her work within the organization by stepping into a new role as founder and Chief Clinical Advisor, allowing her to continue sharing her clinical expertise and remain a key part of the Phoenix Center’s operations.
“Simply put, the Phoenix Center would not exist without Sarah,” Phoenix Center Board President Lindsay Plante said in a media release. “Her legacy lives in every child and family we serve, and we are grateful she will continue to lead our clinical team in the next chapter.”
Garrett moved to the Hill Country in 2005, and founded the Phoenix Center two years later to provide trauma-informed counseling and mental health care to children ages 2-18 and their families. The organization serves multiple rural counties in the area which have been designated as having shortages of mental health professionals.
The nonprofit expanded its operations in 2022 through an 8,000-square-foot counseling center, and further in 2025 by adding equine therapy facilities to its 77-acre campus in Horseshoe Bay.
Visit the Phoenix Center’s website to learn more about the organization and its mission to serve children and families around the area.