PROVIDENCE – Major leadership changes are taking place at two large local nonprofits, all involving one individual.
Karen A. Santilli, who has led Crossroads Rhode Island as its CEO for the last nine years and has been with the nonprofit for 16 years, will step down from her role later this month to become the YMCA of Greater Providence’s new CEO, the two organizations announced Thursday.
Santilli will assume the role at the YMCA held by Steven O’Donnell, who will retire on May 4 after six years with the organization. Crossroads President Michelle Wilcox will serve as the organization’s interim CEO.
Santilli told Providence Business News on Thursday that she was not necessarily looking for something new before the opportunity to lead the YMCA came up, and it arrived “unexpectedly at the right moment.” She said Crossroads “is in a good place” as an organization based on the initiatives it has implemented during her time leading the nonprofit.
“I considered [the new job at the YMCA] and it worked out,” Santilli said.
Santilli also said that there was a growing number of women and families experiencing homelessness when she first joined Crossroads in 2008, and the organization’s cash position at the time “was poor.” Despite having a strong mission, Crossroads at the time did not have a model or path forward to fulfill its mission to help the homeless in the state, she said.
Crossroads said Santilli in her time as its CEO oversaw the organization’s transformation. Santilli, the nonprofit says, helped elevate Crossroads to be a national leader for the implementation of Housing First policies and she led the effort to invest in housing problem strategies that have helped thousands of individuals and families find housing. Crossroads also received a pair of Bezos Day 1 Families Fund grants totaling $10 million over the last five years under Santilli’s leadership.
Crossroads also says Santilli recently oversaw the kicking off of an ongoing $15 million capital campaign to support construction and renovation projects of more than 300 permanent housing apartments in the city of Providence. Santilli said that Summer Street building in the city “has gone vertical,” with construction ongoing.
“I’m really proud of the work we did over the last 16 years,” Santilli said. “We’re now in a place where we have a small endowment. We have an amazing board. We have a great donor base and awesome employees. We’re in a place where we know how to end homelessness and we know there’s a path … and just staying focused with that path.”
Julie Duffy, Crossroads board chairperson, said in a statement the organization, thanks to Santilli’s leadership, has an experienced senior management team, sound finances, and “an ambitious housing development plan” that will allow Crossroads to continue to provide housing and related services to more than 4,000 of men, women and children annually.
Santilli also said she has confidence in Wilcox’s capacity to lead Crossroads at least on an interim basis. She said Wilcox has overseen the organization’s internal operations and the housing construction projects under Crossroads’ umbrella, among other roles.
Now, Santilli will oversee the YMCA’s operations – which include about 500 year-round employees – and will lead a strategic effort designed to expand membership, programming, and community engagement in Providence and across the region. Santilli said in a statement about her new role that she knows how important the YMCA branches are given that her children’s past experience at the Cranston location.
Her first step, she says, as CEO of the YMCA is to meet the organization's members and employees when she arrives in March. Santilli says she feels there’s a similar opportunity to help transform the YMCA much like how Crossroads got transformed.
She said the YMCA had leadership that helped the nonprofit survive the COVID-19 pandemic and now wants to see how she as CEO can help the branches “more effectively” serve their respective communities. Santilli also seeks to look into how the YMCA’s central administration support fundraising and communication to grow the resources to help offer more services the community needs.
O’Donnell, who worked in law enforcement for more than three decades before leading the YMCA, said in a statement that Santilli is a “proven leader” with a strong reputation, and the YMCA is “in great hands” with her as CEO.
(UPDATED throughout noting Karen A. Santilli’s new role with the YMCA of Greater Providence and comment from Santilli.)
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
