HowardCenter Executive Director Todd Centybear has announced that he will retire from his position in December.
Centybear has been at the helm of Vermont’s largest human services organization for 13 years and is among the state’s most respected authorities in the field. He has worked at HowardCenter in various roles for 39 years. He is president of the Vermont Council of Developmental and Mental Health Services and he served in numerous other state and national leadership positions as well.
“Todd has led HowardCenter through development of many pioneering prevention, education, and treatment programs that serve as a model in Vermont and nationally,” said Board of Trustees Chair Mark Baglini. “We know there are thousands of Vermonters – including those who have been served and those in state government – who join us in thanking him for his decades of service and effective leadership.”
Centybear’s advocacy and expertise in leveraging funding has allowed the agency to serve an ever-increasing number of clients in the community during his tenure, Baglini said.
Under Centybear’s leadership, the agency has developed a number of innovative programs, including:
Street Outreach, a mobile mental health intervention program that reduces the disruptive behaviors of individuals and addresses critical underlying issues of homelessness, hunger, health, and other unmet social needs. The program is collaboration with Burlington Police Department, local merchants, Fletcher Allen Health Care, and United Way of Chittenden County.
