CHHSM Board Elects Jamar Doyle as Next President and CEO

The UCC Council for Health and Human Service Ministries (CHHSM) Board Chair Abbreial P. Drane announced Feb. 15 that the board has elected Jamar Doyle to serve as the next  president and CEO of CHHSM. Doyle will succeed Michael J. Readinger, who retires in April after 17 years with CHHSM, first as vice president and then, beginning in 2014, as president and CEO.

Doyle comes to CHHSM from the Greater Collinwood Development Corporation (GCDC) in Cleveland, where he has served as executive director since 2018. He begins his new post March 1, working with Readinger to ensure a smooth transition.

“I look forward to working with Jamar as he begins his leadership of CHHSM in March,” said Readinger. “His experience in developing partnerships with and between organizations and agencies, coupled with his passion and experience in advancing racial equity and inclusion, will aid him in advancing the growth of CHHSM and its members.”

Drane said the appointment comes after an extensive nationwide search by the board’s diverse executive search committee.

“Mr. Doyle comes from the heart of Cleveland and has built a career around serving the least among us,” said Drane, who is president and CEO of Seven Counties Services/Bellewood and Brooklawn in Louisville, Ky. “The board search committee believes that Jamar’s experience in developing partnerships with and between organizations and agencies across sectors, familiarity with CHHSM member sectors — including housing and youth serving services — and passion and experience in advancing racial equity and inclusion will enable him to continue the growth of CHHSM and support CHHSM members in advancing their missions. We look forward to his leadership as we seek to expand the work of CHHSM across the country.”

Board Vice-Chair Michelle Just, who is president and CEO of Beatitudes Campus in Phoenix, agreed that Doyle’s experience will benefit CHHSM and its members. “Jamar’s compassionate and collaborative leadership style, his experience in community-based programming and partnerships, and his commitment to Race, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (RDEI) initiatives are an ideal fit for CHHSM,” Just said. “With the strength of the staff team and board of directors, he will capably lead CHHSM for the next stages of growth.”

Just added her appreciation for the Board’s search committee. “I am incredibly grateful for the tireless work of the executive search committee as they looked toward the innovative future of CHHSM with bold vision,” she said.

As executive director of the GCDC, Doyle took an organization in crisis and stabilized it by growing the funding and increasing the operating budget and staff. Prior to the GCDC, Doyle served as assistant director of the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation in Cleveland.

“I am honored and humbled to soon take over as president and CEO of the Council for Health and Human Service Ministries, especially during this pivotal time when the work of our member organizations is so vital to the health and wellbeing of so many people as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact all our lives,” said Doyle. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve in this capacity and am grateful to those who have entrusted me with this awesome responsibility at this critical time.”

For Doyle, leading CHHSM is more than just a new executive position. Although he said his time with the GCDC “has been a joy to help improve the community I have called home all my life,” CHHSM provides a chance for faith-based serving leadership.

“As much as work with the GCDC has filled me with joy, something was always missing, and that something was a direct connection to my faith,” Doyle said. “CHHSM offers the chance for me to renew my passion for community work with an organization directly connected to the body of Christ, and I am honored to have this opportunity.”

Doyle holds a B.A. degree in urban studies and political science from the University of Pittsburgh (2001) and an M.A. degree in urban planning, design, and development from Cleveland State University (2008). He also received certification in grant proposal writing in 2012 from the NeighborWorks Training Institute.

He was named Community Development Leadership Fellow by the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation (2021); a Marshall Fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (2019); and was a Black Diamond Award Winner for Leadership and service from the Greater Cleveland Delta Foundation (2012). Doyle also is vice president of the Ohio CDC Association and a commissioner on the Bond Accountability Commission of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

When not working, Doyle loves to travel and “explore new places,” he said. His other hobbies include grilling out in the summertime, and dancing — especially line dancing. “I actually teach an R&B line dance class every Thursday,” he said. Doyle and his husband, William Christmas, live in Cleveland.

Jamar Doyle is looking forward to working with the CHHSM staff and members, and added a special message for them. “As we begin this journey together,” he said, “I ask for your grace during this transition as I get to know you all and build the relationships necessary to collaboratively fulfill CHHSM’s mission. I vow to work with all our members and partners to shape a living vision for CHHSM that responds to the urgency of this moment, and to support our membership as we endeavor together to minister in more encompassing and inclusive ways.”