About.
Amy S. Harrison
Amy Harrison grew up in Los Angeles, attended school at West Hollywood Fairfax High School and was very instrumental in her sport teams’ successes. As a young girl, she studied classical piano and taught herself how to play the guitar. Her love of music and sports continued during her college years at UC Riverside, where she played and made unprecedented history in sports and athletics. In addition to music and athletics, Amy enjoys photography, cultivating butterflies, art and vintage photography collecting.
Amy has been recognized as the finest student-athlete, male or female, in the history of University of California Riverside. She lettered in five sports: basketball, tennis, track and field, softball and volleyball. She was named “Outstanding Female Athlete” for three consecutive years. In 1986 she was inducted as a Charter Member into the UC Riverside Hall of Fame and in 2009 into the Riverside Sport Hall of Fame. In appreciation for her support and a tribute to her legendary status, UCR has dedicated and renamed their softball field as the Amy S. Harrison Field.
Amy graduated from UC Riverside with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology. Her education and athletic experiences gave her the competitiveness, drive and tenacity to successfully focus her career on business and treating emotionally disturbed children by opening 23 Advocate School campuses throughout Southern California, educating children with special needs. Her dedication to “at risk” children continued as she founded in 1990, her philanthropic endeavor and continues to serve as President of the Board of Directors for Operation SafeHouse, which operates shelters and programs for runaway, throwaway and trafficked children.
Her corporate and Professional achievements continued as she became Founder and CEO of Children’s Comprehensive Services, a national, $180 million dollar publicly traded corporation with over 5000 employees that operated over 100 residential and day treatment programs in 16 States.
After selling her company in 2001, she continued as Chief Administrative Officer of Childhelp USA, the nation’s largest child abuse prevention organization. Currently, she is Chief Executive Officer and President of Innovative Solutions for Youth, Inc., and Comprehensive Services for Children, Inc., companies focused in developing, implementing, treating and managing day treatment education programs for at-risk and special needs children. Amy continues to use her extensive business expertise as co-owner of Acorn Technology Services. In addition, she also is the CEO of 2 real estate investment corporations that specialize in real estate acquisition and development.
Past Chair of the UCR Foundation Board of Trustees, 4 years
Executive Board Member of the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management
Chair of the UCR Athletics Association Board of Directors
Member of the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Business and Management Fellow and Honorary Doctorate
Member of the UC Riverside Chancellor’s Associates
Served on the UCRF Executive Committee for 18 years
Served on the UCRF Investment Committee for 16 years
Served on the UCR Chancellor’s Advisory Committee for the UCR Medical School
Served on the UCR Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics
Security Bank of California Board of Directors Founding Member
Security Bank of California Audit and Compensation Committee – Chair
Security Bank of California Board Executive Committee
Security of California ALCO Committee – Chair
Acorn Technology Services Board of Directors and Chair
Total Education Solutions Board of Directors Current Member
U.S. House of Representatives Bipartisan Juvenile Justice Task Force
Riverside County District Attorney’s Task Force on Guns and Violence in Schools
Riverside Humane Society Pet Adoption Center Executive Committee and Board of Directors
State of California, Department of Education Committee Task Force for non-public schools
Ice Castles International Board of Directors
Mission Inn Foundation Board of Directors Member
UC Riverside Chancellor’s Medal
UC Riverside Alumni Association Public Service Award
Business Press Women of Distinction Award
The A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management Not-For-Profit Management Leader of the Year Award
Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention Commission Public/Private Partnership Award for Operation SafeHouse
Riverside YWCA Women of Achievement Athena Award
Building Industry Association Citizen of the Year
UCR Athletic Hall of Fame, Charter Member
Soroptimist Gold Key Award, for over 20 years of volunteer work and community service
Riverside Sport Hall of Fame
Numerous other awards and accolades from California State Assembly, California State Senate, Unites States Congress and the Unites States Senator Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer
