SAFFORD — The United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties is looking for a new chief executive officer, following the announced resignation of Adam O’Doherty.
In an e-mail to Gila Valley Central, O’Doherty said he has accepted the position of CEO for a newly formed United Way in northern Indiana.
“They had a recent merger of five United Ways and they personally reached out to me to see if I was interested in applying. I learned from a great professor that if someone opens a door for you that you should at least peek through it versus shutting it. So that is what I did. I was shocked when they offered me the position so I had to do some hard thinking over the long weekend break. I decided it was too good of an opportunity to turn down,” he said.
O’Doherty has played an important role in a number of major initiatives in the Gila Valley since his hire by the United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties in 2019. It was under his leadership that the local United Way moved into funding quarters — with each quarter devoted to a specific area of concern, such as health care and education.
And the local United Way was a key player in keeping the area fiscally healthy during the early days of the pandemic by distributing nearly $250,000 to various entities, including funding for food banks and providing significant funding for the gift certificate program that kept small businesses open and staff employed during state-mandated closures of indoor dining and shopping areas.
“I would say there are a lot of things I am proud of but really the two biggest ones were having the privilege of working with so many wonderful partners in the community and how they were willing to take risks and work together on so many projects in our communities,” O’Doherty wrote.
“The other thing I am proud of was serving as the first CEO for this organization and sharing what we do with the community. I loved talking about the United Way and what we can help support in our counties. In the beginning so many people were unaware that we existed or what we can actually do to move the needle and support the communities’ most pressing needs.”
The United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties has not yet announced a timeline on when O’Doherty’s successor will be named.
O’Doherty’s departure is the fifth major change in high-profile leadership in the Gila Valley in the last 12 months. The town managers for both Duncan and Pima resigned, Publisher Sarah Keith left the Eastern Arizona Courier, and Gila Watershed Partnership Executive Director Melanie Tluczak left to accept a position with an ecological organization in the Phoenix area.
