After decades of service to Vermonters, Howard Center CEO Bob Bick has announced his intention to retire in June 2024. Bick has led the human-service organization since 2015 and has served in leadership positions with the agency for 30 years.
“Bob leaves a remarkable legacy evident by the breadth, depth and growth of the essential programming available to benefit our entire community and by his leadership spanning decades to improve care for all Vermonters,” said Meg O’Donnell, president of the board of trustees. “I’ve valued his partnership as a board member and been continually impressed by his thoughtful, critical thinking about the complex challenges facing health care organizations today and his commitment to the people served by the agency.”
Prior to his tenure as CEO, Bick served as executive director of Champlain Drug and Alcohol — one of two organizations that merged with Howard Center for Human Services in 1994 to form the current-day Howard Center — and as director of mental health and substance use services. He helped open the state’s first methadone clinic, in 2002; supported the creation and implementation of Vermont’s Hub and Spoke treatment model to treat people with opioid use disorder; established harm-reduction services as a bridge to treatment and recovery; and started the Street Outreach program in downtown Burlington, among other initiatives.
“I am so very grateful to have the privilege to serve an organization with such a critical mission,” Bick said. “Howard Center is a cornerstone in our community and part of the fabric that holds us all together.”
Trustees will soon launch a national search, led by O'Donnell, for Bick's successor.