A Penn Yan resident with experience running a mental-health service agency has been named the new president and CEO of Catholic Family Center in Rochester.
Mark A. Wickham, who has been CEO of Lakeview Mental Health in Geneva since 2002, will become president and CEO of Catholic Family Center Jan. 1, 2012, upon the retirement of current president and CEO Carolyn Portanova.
During Wickham’s tenure, annual income at Lakeview has doubled and more than 120 affordable-housing units have been built in six counties. Lakeview serves more than 1,000 consumers in a six-client region with residential, case management, and supported housing services.
Wickham also has been director of the Western New York Region Association of Community Living and the founder and president of the Capital Region MICA Task Force. He is an active member of the Penn Yan and Geneva communities, serving on the Penn Yan School District Board of Education and the Community Advisory Board for Yates County, as a member of Penn Yan Rotary, and as a lacrosse referee and treasurer of youth hockey and synchronized swimming organizations.
He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology/education from Marist College and a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in health-care administration from the College of St. Rose.
He and his wife, Susan, have two children in college.
“His passion for our mission is evident and his dedication to serving those in need, especially the poor and vulnerable, has been an important element of his work for many years,” Portanova said of Wickham.
Portanova will retire Jan. 1 after 37 years of service to Catholic Family Center. During her time leading the agency, it has grown into the largest human-service organization in the county. It has a $27 million budget and serves 53,000 people a year.
Before becoming president and CEO, Portanova served as director of the agency’s Restart Substance Abuse Services, and she developed a nationally recognized residential substance-abuse treatment model for women and their children.
