New Catholic Charities CEO named

SCOTT MILLIKEN

PATERSON  Bishop Serratelli has appointed Scott Milliken — considered as innovator in his leadership of the Department of Persons with Disabilities (DPD) as its executive director for the past eight years — as the first-ever Chief Executive Officer of diocesan Catholic Charities, effective immediately. Milliken will lead the ongoing process of bringing together the three separate agencies of Catholic Charities — Catholic Family and Community Services (CFCS), DPD and Straight and Narrow — under a single board of trustees in a major effort that started last year to streamline and improve services to the poor.

Bishop Serratelli appointed Milliken after a nationwide search for the position with the endorsement and recommendation of the new board, under the leadership of its president, Msgr. Herbert Tillyer, also pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany.

“I am happy to appoint you as the Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Charities in the Paterson Diocese effective immediately. Your prior knowledge of Catholic Charities in our Diocese should serve you well in this new role. As Chief Executive Officer, you are accountable to and report to the Catholic Charities Board of Trustees,” Bishop Serratelli wrote Milliken in his March 5 letter of appointment, while reminding him that “Catholic social teachings help to provide an essential framework for seeing your work and the work of all of Catholic Charities as an example of the Church at her best. We proclaim the love of Jesus through our service to God’s people, especially the poor. I have every confidence that you as Chief Executive Officer will demonstrate, in both word and deed, the ways in which our Catholic teachings can be proclaimed through the mission of Catholic Charities,” he wrote.

No stranger to the Diocese, Milliken has worked for 26 years for DPD, which provides services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the Diocese through group homes, supervised apartment programs, adult training center, volunteer programs, and spirituality programs.

“I am very proud, honored and humbled to be selected as the first CEO of our diocesan Catholic Charities,” said Milliken. “I look forward to working with Msgr. Tillyer; the board; Sam Pirozzi, Straight and Narrow’s executive director; Christine Barton, CFCS’ executive director; DPD; and our parishes; and our communities to provide help and create hope for those in need in our Diocese. For so long, Catholic Charities operated at three separate agencies. We want to unify the organization to streamline and improve our services for the poor,” he said.

To the new CEO position, Milliken brings a proven track record of accomplishment at DPD over his eight years as its executive director. Milliken oversaw the opening of two new group homes, Walsh House, Succasunna, and Giuliano House, Jefferson Township, and the doubling of DPD’S budget from $5 to $10 million.

In those eight years, the agency also expanded services at its Gruenert Employment Center, Lake Hopatcong, including Saturdays at the Center, a program that allows parents with disabled children at home a break from the challenges of caregiving. Also, DPD has renovated buildings and began providing case management to 150 families, Milliken said.

“After college, I started working with the disabled,” said Milliken, who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Syracuse University; a master’s degree in public administration from Seton Hall University, South Orange; and a graduate certificate in non-profit management, also from Seton Hall. “I love helping the physically disabled, people who have fallen on hard times, the homeless and the addicted. I enjoy having the knowledge to facilitate help for them through Catholic Charities and other agencies,” he said.

Remarking on Milliken’s leadership at DPD, Msgr. Tillyer called the new CEO “acknowledged as a leader and an innovator, adopting modern technologies and techniques — all to serve the agency’s clients.”

“Now as CEO of Catholic Charities, Scott has no learning curve; he is ahead of the curve. He will help synergize the efforts of all three entities to enhance the lives and dignity of our brothers and sisters in need,” Msgr. Tillyer said. “He will make us proud of the Catholic Charities enterprise, which will be more united and will serve God’s people well. Christ is calling us to do this.”

Over the years, Milliken also has given his time and talent as a board member of Visiting Health Services of NJ–St. Joseph’s Hospital, Paterson, for 21 years, and as an international peer reviewer of social service organizations for the Council on Accreditation for 18 years. Also, he is a Fourth Degree knight and Past Grand Knight of the Joseph F. Lamb Council 5510; the Friendly Son of St. Patrick; and with his wife, Mary, is a parishioner of St. Thomas the Apostle, Oak Ridge.

Diocesan efforts to unify Catholic Charities started last November with the establishment of the single board with Msgr. Tillyer as president, all named by Bishop Serratelli. In addition to serving as a longtime pastor and former vicar general of the Diocese, Msgr. Tillyer is the only person in the Diocese to have served on all three of the former Catholic Charities boards.

Members of the new Board also include: Dennis Murray, vice-president; Sole Anselmi, treasurer; Dominican Sister of Hope Catherine McDonnell, diocesan vice-chancellor for urban ministry and planning, as secretary; Paul Wittekind; Michael Calabrese; Katherine Lordi; Dr. Michelle Baron-Romans; Edward Madzy; Ivannia Vega-McTighe, coordinator of the diocesan Office of Catechesis; Julie Tatti, former DPD executive director; Timothy Potter, diocesan development director; Eugene O’Connell; Father Edward Reading, weekend assistant at Good Shepherd Parish, Andover; John Sullivan; and Thomas Barrett, ex-officio, diocesan coordinator of special projects.

The new board focused on one of its major orders of business: to put together a search committee for a nationwide search for a CEO. Committee members were Potter who served as chairman, Sullivan, Lordi, Murray, and Barrett. The nationwide search produced 24 qualified applicants, which the committee whittled to five candidates. After careful review, it recommended Milliken to the board, which in turn, recommended him to Bishop Serratelli, who appointed him CEO, Msgr. Tillyer said.

Msgr. James Mahoney, diocesan vicar general and moderator of the Curia, called Milliken’s appointment “the culmination of a lengthy process to bring together the work of Catholic Charities with the entire work of the Diocese of Paterson.”

“Scott was chosen by the search committee of the board of trustees of Catholic Charities not because he has worked at Catholic Charities, even though that is important, but rather because he possessed the skills needed today to carefully shepherd this important jewel of the life of the Paterson Diocese,” said Msgr. Mahoney, who also serves as pastor of Corpus Christi Parish, Chatham Township. “From his time at the Department for Persons with Disabilities, he has shown his competence and care for those who are the most vulnerable. Now, he can bring those skills to giving leadership to our total work with Catholic Charities. This is a great moment for the Diocese,” he said.