Dr. Cha-Tanya Lankford, LCSW joined Pressley Ridge in 2005 and was named Executive Director of Maryland and Delaware in November 2025. She is responsible for all current and future programming and daily operations in the region, providing oversight for Treatment Foster Care, Independent Living and Workforce Development programs.
Dr. Lankford has practiced as a licensed clinical social worker for the past twenty-five years and currently holds clinical licensure in the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Dr. Lankford has more than 30 years of experience in the field of human services and has held leadership and clinical positions working with children, adults and families impacted by mental health, addiction, and trauma.
She is a proud social worker and works intentionally to uplift the and support the profession serving as a prior adjunct professor at Delaware State University in its School of Social Work. Additionally, she serves as a state certified licensed clinical social work supervisor in Delaware and Maryland providing clinical supervision to those seeking clinical licensure. Dr. Lankford has served as a social work field instructor for Delaware State University, Liberty University, Salisbury University and Walden University. In her capacity as a member of the State of Delaware Licensure Taskforce, Dr. Lankford is passionate about maintaining rigorous standards surrounding education, fieldwork, supervision, and examination as a mechanism to advance safe, competent, and ethical practices with a focus on public protection. Given her vast years of leadership experience, Dr. Lankford has presented at multiple state and national conferences focusing on clinical leadership in the human services sector.
At a broader level, Dr. Lankford serves as the board Vice President of Trauma Matters Delaware, the Executive Director of the Capital City Pearls Foundation and an executive board member of the Delaware Center for Justice.
Dr. Lankford is a 2011 graduate of the Executive Leadership Institute, where she received a Certification in Non-Profit Management from the University of Michigan- Anne Arbor’s School of Social Work and School of Business. She also holds a Certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies from the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Lankford has a passion for macro level systems change and is an active member of the Public Policy Committee with the Family Focused Treatment Association.
Dr. Lankford holds multiple clinical and professional certifications and was recognized with the Pressley Ridge Entrepreneurial Leadership Award in 2008 and the Pressley Ridge Distinguished Service Award in 2011. In 2023, Pressley Ridge was recognized by the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce as a Small Business of the Year nominee.