Amberly’s Place executive director to retire

Diane Umphress will retire on May 15, 2021

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The executive director at Amberly's Place announced her retirement on Friday from the organization after more than 20 years.

Amberly's place says Diane Umphress will retire on May 15, 2021.

For over 20 years, she has helped thousands of victims on their journey from victim to survivor throughout Yuma County.

Umphress started her work with the county as a victim advocate. She later planted her seeds that led to the Yuma County Family Advocacy Coalition creation, which founded Amberly's Place.

Umphress served as the executive director and served on the Attorney General’s Victim Advisory Committee, and currently serves as Chair on the Governor’s Commission to Prevent Violence Against Women.

Umphress says she's been fortunate to receive support from colleagues, donors, and volunteers, so her decision to retire was not easy.

Amberly's Place said board members are conducting a nationwide search to find Umphress's replacement.

Umphress says she is looking forward to spending time with her grandchildren.

But she has one more important task to work on before she passes the torch to someone new.

"There’s some bad legislation that’s out there that I wanna see if we can’t do something about that would actually make it harder for victims to get the services that they need," says Umphress.

She will continue to do what she does best -- help others. Once her retirement at Amberly's Place is official, she will move on to the Court Appointed Special Advocates, better known as CASA where she will work with children in our community.