New Catholic Charities Leader Seeks to Coordinate Services for the Poor and Sick

Sister Donna Markham, an Adrian Dominican sister and clinical psychologist who has been appointed as the next president of Catholic Charities USA, says she hopes to foster more collaboration among Catholic social-service charities and health-care organizations to help people in need.

That, she says, could be one answer to the question, “How can we help strengthen the quality of life for people who are really struggling in our society?”

Sister Donna, the first woman to head the 105-year-old organization, which operates a network of more than 160 social-service charities across the country, will take the helm on June 1.

She will succeed the Rev. Larry Snyder, who is stepping down to take a new job as vice president for mission at the University of St. Thomas. Sister Donna is now president of the Behavioral Health Institute at Mercy Health, a Catholic health-care system serving Ohio and Kentucky.

With more than $1.6-billion in private support in fiscal year 2013, Catholic Charities USA ranked seventh on The Chronicle’s 2014 list of the 400 most successful fundraising charities.

Sister Donna, also an author and speaker on organizational leadership, says she would like to continue her predecessor’s efforts to study the most effective ways to fight poverty by supporting the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunity (LEO) at Notre Dame University.

She spoke to The Chronicle about her new job:

Father Larry Snyder has been a big figure in the antipoverty movement. He has talked about how the system is broken and we have find new ways of doing things. What do you think needs to be done now to move the antipoverty fight forward?

Continuing the work that Father Larry has begun with Notre Dame and the LEO program, so we’re doing the research and we’re really looking at some of the factors that can change the system, is critical. I’ll need to get more involved with understanding the breadth of that program.

Another area that is near and dear to my heart is that of, How can we strengthen the quality of life for people who are really struggling in our society? [I would like to see] closer collaboration between Catholic Charities and Catholic Health. I’m very interested in looking at how Catholic Charities is providing very important needs for people who are struggling and Catholic Health is helping to promote health-care initiatives that would support people that are in need.

Do you have any specific ideas about where these two fields might intersect a bit more?

I need to get together with some of the significant people both in Catholic health systems and some of our diocesan directors to put those two together and see what we could really imagine and envision for the future. It’s something that has been bothering me, that I think we can do better for people.

I’ve been dealing with a lot of folks who struggle with not having insurance coverage, people who are often the very same people who walk in the doors of Catholic Charities. I’ve been working with the mentally ill, so I’d love to see what we could do to be part of the solution there, to help with population health management.

You’re the first woman to head Catholic Charities. Is that a breakthrough? Does it say something about more openness to leadership by women within the organization?

The Catholic Health Association is led by Sister Carol Keehan; Catholic Relief Services is led by Carolyn Woo. I’m the first for Catholic Charities, but in terms of leadership, I think it’s just a question of who is best able to lead an organization at a given point in time. That’s maybe an interesting thing to highlight: The three major Catholic service organizations are led by women.

You’re an expert in organizational leadership. Are there any philosophies of leadership that you will bring to your new job or that other nonprofit leaders should be thinking about?

Much of what I write on work and what I speak on pertains to developing strong teams of leaders that can work in concert on behalf of the mission of the organization. Find the most experienced experts you can find that can really round out the skill base in an organizational-leadership capacity.

Pope Francis is a relatively popular pope. How do you see his image affecting Catholic Charities’ work?

Pope Francis did address the national [Catholic Charities] gathering last year. I was so inspired by him, as so many people are, his passion for those who are vulnerable. He is inspiring all of us and emboldening us to carry forth this sacred work of attention to those who are on the margins.