As we prepare to celebrate the 15th year anniversary of Passaic County CASA – whose mission it is to ensure children have a voice in the child welfare system – we want to recognize all the people who contribute to this life-changing cause. We applaud the volunteers, the advocates… and the staff for their dedication. We also want to acknowledge the behind-the-scenes work that may go unnoticed, though always appreciated.
Last July, I returned from vacation to find myself standing ankle-deep in water inside what was supposed to be our newly renovated office. After the shock wore off, my first phone call was to Jeff Knapp, our IT consultant. It was after 5 pm on a summer Friday afternoon, yet Jeff answered the phone and said, “I’ll be right there.”
For that reason, and so many more, we are excited to celebrate Jeff Knapp and Jephens Technology as our 2022 Unsung Hero.
When we were a young organization, I would regularly receive calls or in-person feedback from staff saying things like, “the computers are down…”, “the phones don’t work...”, and “everything is slow.” Then, I would spend hours trying to figure out how to fix them, hours that could have been spent actually serving children went to fixing technological problems.
Sometime around 2010, I met Jeff Knapp. I remember thinking (and probably told him) that we needed his help, but couldn’t afford it on our small startup nonprofit budget. A few months later, Jeff reached out to find out more about our challenges and agreed to work as outsourced IT support. Still unable to afford such a luxury, he said “just pay me what you can, when the organization grows we can adjust.”
Jeff and his partner Brian came in and went above and beyond while reconfiguring our computer network to work much more efficiently and professionally. For example, I had personally wired the office and had network cabling hung around door frames with push pins, leaving a literal mess for them to clean up and fix.
A year later, we moved into our first space at the 415 Hamburg complex. On the day of the move, Jeff and Brian were there with us all day, moving desktops (remember those?!) in the back seats of their own cars. Late at night, when most of our staff had left, it was Brian that was still there helping to make sure every single computer was functioning and hooked up so we could seamlessly work first thing in the morning.
Two moves later...and even through the pandemic, Jeff and his team have been by our sides making sure we've had a system that could support the vital work we do.
For more than 10 years, in the unpredictable world of child welfare, Jeff and his team have gone above and beyond to ensure that computers and all things technology are the one thing that we can rely on.
When you ask around the office, “Why is Jeff important to us?”, this is what you’ll hear:
“Although the phone number says "for emergencies, please call"...I've called several times and had someone pick up or call back immediately. He respects that to ME, the need for a bitlocker recovery key IS an emergency!”- Sarah During
“Jeff and Mike have always been great at problem-solving, and they respond quickly to rescue us whenever we need help. They've supported us through flooded offices, a rapid pivot to virtual work, and countless growing pains each time we've added new people and had to squeeze in another desk and laptop, or shuffle staff back and forth between offices. They keep our technology humming along, so we can focus on the needs of the children we serve.”- Michelle Schaefer
“One day I was in an awful mood because I couldn't print and I had a Family Team Meeting that was about to start soon. I told Mike that I was having a bad day and everything was going wrong!! He took over my screen and proceeded to play funny dancing videos while fixing the printer. I never told him, but it really made my day !!! “- Davetta Ford
“As a completely non-tech person working amongst many tech gizmos, Jeff has never made me feel stupid or that I bothered him unnecessarily. He explains things on a level I can understand and works with me to solve the offices tech issues as they arise.”- Pam Saunders
“When we were sent home at the beginning of the pandemic, they spent about an hour on the phone with me in order to connect my home printer to my work laptop. Basically, they take the time to make sure it's done right and are patient. “- Jill Rebeor
Learn more about Jeff and Jephens Technologies at https://www.jephens.com/