text: "A thief is a thief."
  Jaded, here's one time we disagree.  From my experience with criminals I'd say there are many different types of "thieves"  with different motivations and different issues.  In particular, females are a lot rarer than males. though edging up.
  IMO opinion someone who could steal $250,000 from her  non-profit  employer, friends, co-workers and clients is a far more serious  psychological  case than one who steals from strangers.   While I'm no advocate for extreme punitive measures I'd say besides counseling,  she deserves some jail time, not just probation and an unlikely  promise of restitution .