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New Catholic Charities CEO Paul Martodam humbled by appointment |
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By Pat Norby
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Wednesday, 18 November 2009 |
Q What prompted you to leave Phoenix for the position here?
A Minnesota is home for both Linda and me and it’s where our our families reside. Eight of my nine brothers and sisters and two of Linda’s three brothers and sisters live in Minnesota. Our mothers both live there and they’re at an age where we need to take advantage of the time with them. We decided we needed to relocate. . . . Also, I’ve been a longtime friend of Msgr. [Jerome] Boxleitner and Father Larry Snyder and Father John Estrem. . . . I have revered this organization for more than 30 years, so it’s very humbling to me to not only be considered but to be asked to lead this organization.
 Someone You Should Know
Paul Martodam, CEO of Catholic Charities Community Services in Phoenix, was recently appointed by Archbishop John Nienstedt to serve as CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, beginning Jan. 1. A Minnesota native, Martodam previously held positions with Catholic Charities in the St. Cloud and Moorhead dioceses. He and his wife, Linda, have five adult children and five grandchildren.
Q What do you see as the greatest challenge that Catholic Charities in St. Paul and Minneapolis faces?
A The extensive unmet human needs and building capacity, not
only within Catholic Charities but within the community, to respond to
those growing unmet needs.
Q What have you learned while leading Catholic Charities in Phoenix that will be helpful in this archdiocese?
A I don’t come with a magic wand. I come with a great respect
for people’s gifts and talents. And a great respect for the synergy
that’s created when we bring people together to address critical issues.
The second thing is the power of prayer. We oftentimes pray for money
when what we really need is compassion and care. . . . From our
perspective, communities need to be engaged in the services we provide.
Q What have you tried to emulate in Phoenix from Catholic Charities in St. Paul and Minneapolis?
A Catholic Charities in St. Paul and Minneapolis has been known
nationally for its work in helping people out of poverty. So when
Catholic Charities USA held its annual conference in Minneapolis, the
theme was poverty and we developed our Out-of-Poverty Initiative.
Nationally, we have committed to reducing poverty in half by 2020.
. . . We found that we do a great job stabilizing people, but we have
not gone the next step, consistently, to help people out of poverty. So
we developed a whole new layer of programming that is designed to do
just that. All of those initiatives are staffed by volunteers in the
community. . . . One thing Archbishop Nienstedt talked about as a
priority for him was for Catholic Charities to be engaged with
parishes, so the work of charity becomes a part of parish life. . . .
We’ll be looking at ways to work more closely with parishes to engage
parishes in helping to lift people out of poverty.
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