Bob Bick will be the next executive director of the HowardCenter, the social service agency’s board of trustees announced Monday.
Bick will take over Jan. 1, leaving his current job as director of the center’s mental health and substance abuse services, where he has served since 1994.
“Bob stood out in a national field that included other deeply qualified candidates with experience running organizations that are similar to, or even larger than, HowardCenter,” said HowardCenter Board President Mark Baglini, who also co-chaired the search committee.
Bick succeeds Todd Centybear, who led the HowardCenter for 13 years and is retiring. He worked at HowardCenter since 1975, according to a news release.
The HowardCenter employs more than 1,500 people, has more than 60 locations and an annual budget of $85 million, according to the release. It serves more than 150,000 people each year.
Before joining HowardCenter, Bick was Executive Director of Champlain Drug and Alcohol Services. In 1994, he played a key role in the merger of that agency and the Baird Center for Children and Families with HowardCenter.
HowardCenter’s board selected Bick following a nationwide search that began in May. The firm LeFevre & Associates assisted with the search, which garnered about 140 applications. Bick was one of two finalists chosen from a pool of eight semifinalists.
