New CEO: Heading Catholic Charities means respecting life

By ANGELA CAVE- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

The new CEO of Catholic Charities for the Albany Diocese has strong ties to the diocesan Pastoral Center. Vincent Colonno was born in the building, which was once Albany's Brady Maternity Hospital, and grew up just blocks from its location on North Main Avenue.

As a child, Mr. Colonno attended Blessed Sacrament Church in Albany and went door-to-door selling subscriptions for The Evangelist in the city's west end. His desire to help others stems back to shoveling sidewalks for elderly neighbors.

After almost four decades serving the Albany County Department of Social Services, Mr. Colonno is ready for his next challenge.

"It's on me to make sure that we can preserve the resources that we have," the new CEO said of Catholic Charities, a non-profit agency that delivers an array of human services to more than 123,500 people in the Diocese annually.

He will oversee a $44 million budget and more than 1,000 employees across the 14 counties of the Diocese.

Mr. Colonno started his new position July 5 and has begun to assess the needs of the agency. Though the slow economic recovery has proven burdensome, he said Catholic Charities' solid framework will ensure its stability and its mission.

"It's just a matter of making sure there are no cracks," he said.

Mr. Colonno succeeds Sister Charla Commins, CSJ, who served as interim CEO for a year after the death of long-time CEO Sister Maureen Joyce, RSM.

Mr. Colonno often interacted with Sister Maureen at social service events and hopes to maintain her legacy: "I always pictured her as delicate hands wrapped around the agency, and that won't change," he said. "The agency itself has an excellent reputation."

Mr. Colonno graduated from the former Cardinal McCloskey High School in Albany. He earned an associate's degree from a junior college while working on construction of Albany's south mall in the 1970s.

He began his career with the county in 1974 as a welfare examiner. After a promotion, he went back to school and earned a bachelor's degree from SUNY Empire State College and a Master's degree in public administration from Sage College.

He went on to head the Department of Social Services, overseeing 700 employees, then served as its deputy commissioner for 15 years. His career took a turn in 2000, when he became commissioner for the Department for Aging.

"It was probably the best thing that ever happened to me," he said. The department received only a small portion of state funds, so he exercised his creative abilities: "It was like the little engine that could. We didn't rely on just the money that was in front of us."

Mr. Colonno is especially proud of planning a streamlined transportation service and a long-term care council known as Albany County NYConnects.

Most recently, Mr. Colonno served as commissioner of the Department of Social Services. He says he'll approach his new job with the same Catholic values he's always had.

"You have to respect people and what they represent and definitely respect life," he said.

"I'm coming from the public sector. I'm going to be looking at it through different glasses," he continued. "I see that as an exciting challenge."

Mr. Colonno lives with his wife in Guilderland and attends All Saints parish in Albany. In his spare time, he golfs, roots for the New York Yankees and the Syracuse Orange and listens to smooth jazz.[[In-content Ad]]