Names to Know: Meet Community Partners' new Executive Director
Christopher Kozak new Executive Director at Community Partners
DOVER — The Community Partners Board of Directors has selected Christopher Kozak, the current behavioral health chief operating officer, as its next executive director. Kozak will succeed Brian Collins, who is retiring after 27 years with the organization.
Kozak first joined Community Partners, the Area Agency for Developmental Services, and Community Mental Health Center for Strafford County, and the ServiceLink Aging and Disability Resource Center for both Strafford and Rockingham Counties, in 2010 as the Behavioral Health Quality Improvement Director. In 2012, he was promoted to become the Behavioral Health Chief Operating Officer. In that role he has successfully guided the Community Mental Health Center through many changes including the state’s adoption of the Medicaid Managed Care payment method and the addition of ServiceLink to the agency’s oversight.
Wayne Goss, the Board of Directors’ President, announced the selection to the 400 plus staff last week, stating that after narrowing the field of over 80 applicants, the board’s decision was unanimous in support of Kozak. “The combination of Chris’s tenure, leadership skills, successes, and dedication to our clients and mission gives the board great confidence in him. We believe that our clients and our financial health will continue be in good hands,” said Goss.
Collins, the outgoing executive director, will be staying onboard for a period of transition to share his organizational knowledge and insights with Kozak. “I’m thrilled that the board of directors has selected Chris for the role. He and I have worked closely for over ten years. I know he’ll bring steady and competent leadership to the Agency.”
Prior to joining Community Partners, Kozak held leadership positions in the insurance, behavioral health case management and technology fields. He holds both a BS and MS in Psychology. Kozak said he “appreciated the board’s intentional deliberative process in arriving at their decision allowing me the opportunity to lead an organization as great as Community Partners. Throughout the pandemic and mounting workforce challenges the staff at Community Partners have never lost the focus on our clients, their families, and our Mission. I look forward to picking up where Brian left off in working with such a dedicated team to take on the challenges that lie ahead.”
Community Partners connects clients and their families to the opportunities and possibilities for full participation in their communities and offers a wide variety of services across an individual’s lifespan. For more information about Community Partners visit www.communitypartnersnh.org.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Names to Know: Meet Community Partners' new Executive Director
