Tyrone Harvey joined the executive team at SELF Inc. as Chief Operating Officer in January 2024. With more than 30 years of experience in human service delivery, he has spent the last two decades in management and brings an educational background in law (Juris Doctorate, West Virginia University, College of Law), social service delivery (Master’s of Social Services from Bryn Mawr College’s Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research) and economics (Bachelor’s of Arts from Pennsylvania State University).

During his early professional career, he worked directly with individuals and groups as a Social Work Services Manager for the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services (DHS) and as a Residential Staff for teen males at Carson Valley Children’s Aid Stork Hill cottage. He has also served as an Integration Specialist for individuals diagnosed as mental health/mental retardation in supervised living arrangements with community organizations such as PATH (People Acting to Help), Inc. and Horizon House.

The foundation for his practice was formed during those early experiences, finding success working as a member of a team and having an individual caseload where he learned to assess the needs of those being served, plan interventions with clearly identified goals and activities, collaborate with providers to coordinate services to be delivered, track progress for all of the moving parts and learn to make adjustments where and when needed.

These experiences continued to shape Harvey as he joined management and shifted his priorities to achieving outcomes through the members of his team, providing leadership and supportive supervision to enhance their learning and further development as professionals. During his 20-year tenure in management, he has held various positions which supplemented the skills he brings to this position such as managing state grant funds, program budgeting, planning and development; conducting performance evaluations and reviews, developing outcome measurement standards and policies, collaborating with local, state and federal entities to conduct agency-wide service evaluations; overseeing service provider relations and program evaluations; and conducting case management quality service reviews in a change environment.

Harvey is an analytical thinker, driven by results with a preference for thoughtful and thorough examination of available data before choosing the best solutions to problems. As a result, he has a democratic leadership style and is looking to optimize staff input and involvement in all processes. He believes communication and collaboration are the keys to a positive and productive work environment. Staff can expect an open door policy, as an invitation to engage freely as his motto is “if it is a priority for you, then it is important to me.”

He is a life-long native of West Philadelphia and product of the city’s public school system, residing elsewhere only to attend college. He enjoys cheering for the hometown sports teams as well as the football teams of his alma maters (West Philadelphia High School, Penn State and WVU). He is a fan of the creative and performing arts, partial to many genres of music and attends theatrical shows, dance recitals and concerts regularly. He is a nature lover and enjoys spending time outdoors with his pets and wildlife while tending his flower and vegetable gardens. While he enjoys food and fine dining, he doesn’t have the patience for cooking himself and chooses instead to create tempting desserts to enjoy.