SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Aug. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Roy Maas Youth Alternatives (RMYA) Board of Directors has named Blair Thompson the agency's new Chief Executive Officer effective September 1, 2021. Thompson replaces Bill Wilkinson, who has been the CEO of RMYA for 8 years and had informed the board in August 2020 of his intention to retire in 2021.
Thompson has been the Managing Director of the Children's Bereavement Center of South Texas in San Antonio, a nonprofit organization that uses expressive art therapies to help children who are grieving the death of a loved one.
An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church since 1998, Thompson began serving the nonprofit community in 2006 as the Director of Development at Alpha Home. He also spent 2-years as Vice President for Development at Family Service Association, prior to joining the Children's Bereavement Center in 2013. Thompson earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from Texas Tech University and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He and his wife Maggie have three adult children.
RMYA Board President, Karen Cannon said Thompson was the unanimous choice of board members. "He brings enormous experience working with children and young adults who are struggling with a variety of emotional issues. It is that experience and commitment to helping kids that was so attractive to the board," she said.
Cannon added, "We are, of course, sorry to see Bill Wilkinson retire. Under his direction, RMYA experienced an amazing amount of growth to enable the agency to serve even more Texas kids in crisis. Bill will be missed, but we are confident Blair will be able to do the job that needs to be done to keep RMYA on course in fulfilling our mission."
Thompson said, "I'm very excited to have the opportunity to serve as the new Chief Executive Officer at Roy Maas Youth Alternatives and to help build on the extraordinary legacy of this exemplary organization. I look forward to working together with the board, the outstanding staff, partners, investors, and stakeholders to help write new chapters in the remarkable story of RMYA's care for our community's most vulnerable children."
About Roy Maas Youth Alternatives
Roy Maas Youth Alternatives (RMYA) provides therapeutic support and shelter for children to heal from the trauma of severe abuse and violence, through no fault of their own. Nearly 150 children and youth, ages 5-24 are healing in our care each day through emergency services, drop-in care, long-term residential and transitional living programs. RMYA has helped more than 84,000 youth and families since 1976. RMYA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency. For more information, visit us at http://www.RMYA.org.
Media Contact
Gina Galaviz Eisenberg, The Eisenberg Group, +1 (210) 254-5661, gina@eisenbergpr.com
Gail Ribalta, Roy Maas Youth Alternatives, 210-340-8077, gribalta@rmya.org
SOURCE Roy Maas Youth Alternatives (RMYA)
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