Search Underway for New CEO

CHHSM has already appointed a seven-member search committee and selected a search agency, but the work ahead to find a new president and CEO has just begun.

“The search is now live and we’re receiving applications and resumes,” says the Rev. Kenneth V. Daniel, president and CEO of United Church Homes.

Daniel leads the search committee, which also includes executive directors of several other CHHSM member ministries, as well as a staff member from the United Church of Christ. The committee laid the groundwork for the months ahead by finalizing the position description and selecting Diversified Search of Philadelphia, Pa., to manage and support the process.

Diversified Search will be gathering applications and evaluating candidates throughout the summer, and Daniel anticipates that the search committee will begin interviews in late summer or early fall. The committee hopes to appoint someone to the position before Dec. 31, when current president and CEO Bryan Sickbert will retire.

“We’re looking for a dynamic visionary leader to take CHHSM to the next level,” Daniel says. The organization needs a leader who can network and build relationships with member ministries, other nonprofits and faith-based agencies, and the United Church of Christ, he says. The president will also oversee CHHSM’s leadership and education programs, including the Nollau Institute.

“CHHSM’s future is very much aligned with the power of networking and collaborating with other ministries to grow the capacity of leaders and organizations,” he says.

Cynthia Barth is a managing director with Diversified Search, a Philadelphia-based executive search firm that has more than three decades of experience helping faith-based health care and human service organizations. Barth has already held conversations with CHHSM’s board of directors and other stakeholders.

“The search begins by mining CHHSM and other faith-based organizations for qualified candidates,” Barth says. “In my initial conversations, I’m learning about the role CHHSM brings to its member agencies, and I’m asking people who else they think I need to talk to.”

Barth and Daniel emphasize the importance of CHHSM member input. Barth says desirable candidates will have executive leadership experience, familiarity with the UCC and the ability to build partnerships, but she welcomes suggestions. “I want people to make referrals to me. Who should I talk to? Who do you think would fit this position?”

“We want to make sure we find the best possible leader to take on this important role, but we need help,” Daniel says. “We need everyone’s input to find the next leader of CHHSM.”