Erica Seabaugh – CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions

Erica Seabaugh did not plan to build an 18-year career at a single organization, yet her professional life has unfolded alongside the growth and reinvention of CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions, where she now serves as chief operating officer. What began as a frontline social work role has evolved into executive leadership shaped by operational discipline, program innovation, and a steady focus on how systems can better serve older adults, individuals with disabilities, and family caregivers.

Erica Seabaugh | CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions | COO

Her academic path started with a social work degree from Ball State University, followed by a master’s in social work from Indiana University, Indianapolis. She joined CICOA in May 2008 as a case manager, expecting a short stop early in her career. Instead, she found an organization whose mission and internal mobility kept opening new opportunities, and she steadily advanced through supervisory and senior leadership roles.

CICOA is a nonprofit designated area agency on aging under the federal Older Americans Act, serving an eight-county region centered on Marion County in Indiana, with some programs extending statewide and nationally. The organization has operated for more than five decades and supports roughly 8,000 to 10,000 clients through case-managed services, meals, transportation, caregiver support and community-based programming. Its model centers on person-centered care planning that helps individuals remain independent in the community setting of their choice and also touts an internal innovation studio that develops scalable social care solutions.

Journey through the organization

Seabaugh describes the workplace culture as the primary reason she stayed and continued to grow. She moved from case manager into supervisory and leadership roles, overseeing teams and cross-functional initiatives as her scope expanded.

“CICOA has always felt like home when it comes to the work environment,” she says.

She points to visible advancement pathways and accessible leadership as key strengths. Frontline staff and executives operate with a shared service mindset rather than a rigid hierarchy. That environment supported her through major life milestones while she continued to take on larger responsibilities.

“The culture of the organization has always felt like a second family,” Seabaugh says.

Her interests gradually shifted from direct service into macro level social work, including systems design, organizational leadership, and community impact at scale.

“I was always interested in the leadership side of social work and how systems and organizations play a role in society,” she says.

There was one brief period where she considered leaving during a challenging phase of change that occurred over a decade ago, but she stayed, convinced that the mission and community commitment outweighed short-term disruption. In December 2024, she stepped into the COO role and became a central driver of operational modernization.

Leading through reinvention

During Seabaugh’s tenure, the organization experienced several executive-level leadership transitions. While she acknowledges that steady leadership provides direction, she is quick to point out that continuity has ultimately been sustained by the people who carry out the work every day. Deep institutional knowledge and long employee tenure across departments have preserved stability and service quality despite changes at the top.

“We’ve had turnover in high-level leadership roles, but we have so much tenure in our group that the foundation remains,” she explains.

For Seabaugh, that foundation is not abstract. It is built by employees at every level of the organization—direct care staff, administrative teams, program managers, and operational support—each playing a distinct but interconnected role in advancing the mission. She believes that without the consistent commitment of those employees, no strategic plan or executive vision would be enough.

“Innovation has been so important and valuable to our organization,” she says.

Over the past decade, she and her colleagues have worked to cultivate a culture that pairs innovation with respect for the people delivering services. Rather than reacting with alarm to funding or policy shifts, leadership teams treat disruption as a design constraint—an opportunity to rethink service models, partnerships, and funding strategies. That approach has been especially critical for a nonprofit heavily dependent on government funding.

At the same time, she is careful to emphasize that innovation does not exist in a vacuum. New programs, creative partnerships, and evolving service models only succeed because employees implement them with care and consistency. The mission has remained constant, even as methods evolve to meet the needs of people living longer with increasingly complex expectations around independence. In Seabaugh’s view, recognizing and valuing every role in that process is not simply good culture—it is essential to fulfilling the organization’s purpose.

Diversifying revenue & reach

One of Seabaugh’s most significant initiatives has been revenue diversification. Historically, about 85 to 90 percent of annual funding has come from state and federal grants, creating risk if policy or budget priorities change. It also limits reach to those who meet eligibility rules, leaving many middle-income older adults without guidance.

She has overseen four major growth initiatives to extend services beyond publicly funded programs and to create new revenue streams through private-pay and fee-for-service offerings. Each initiative is evaluated for mission alignment, scalability, and operational sustainability before launch.

Flourish at Home delivers private pay case management for individuals who do not qualify for government programs but still need expert navigation. Safe at Home addresses housing accessibility by pairing occupational therapy assessments with targeted home modifications such as barrier-free showers and grab bars. The programs respond to a shortage of accessible housing and support aging in place.

“We become the experts on listening to what people need as a whole and figure out how to bring it to them,” Seabaugh notes.

She views these programs as both mission expansion and financial risk management, reducing exposure while meeting unmet needs and correcting long-standing service gaps.

Supporting caregivers & closing gaps

Another major platform under her leadership is CareAware Journey, launched publicly in October 2025 as an employer-facing benefit for working caregivers. With roughly one in five working adults providing care to a loved one, employers face productivity loss and rising health costs tied to caregiver stress. The platform provides education and coaching based on decades of experience in caregiver programs and translates social care knowledge into a workplace tool.

At the same time, Seabaugh helped establish a Community Health Worker program that deploys trained frontline workers from the communities they serve. These workers support clients for up to 90 days, helping them set goals, navigate complicated healthcare systems, and resolve social barriers that interfere with care plans. The model strengthens follow-through and builds trust at the neighborhood level.

“Trying to be the smartest person in every room is stifling to an organization,” she says.

Her leadership style centers on transparency and vulnerability rather than authority signaling. She believes trust is built when leaders acknowledge uncertainty and admit mistakes, especially during change and rapid growth.

“Being transparent and vulnerable are keys to being a successful leader,” she says.

Seabaugh applies that philosophy to hiring and talent development, focusing on authenticity and learning agility. Errors are treated as growth inputs rather than permanent failures, and reflection is built into team practice.

“It is a bigger mistake not to learn from the mistake than the mistake itself,” she says.

After nearly two decades, Seabaugh sees her career path and the organization’s evolution as closely linked. Her progression from case manager to COO mirrors CICOA’s shift from traditional service delivery to diversified, innovation-driven community care. The through line remains steady, builds practical systems, empowers capable people, and delivers support that allows individuals and families to live with dignity, stability, and real choice in how they age.