John Roberson Named Chief Program Officer at CHD
John Roberson has joined CHD as Chief Program Officer, bringing to our agency an extensive background in leadership and operations for community-based residential programs and a passion for helping our communities’ most vulnerable members.
He is responsible for the overall leadership and development of a multi-faceted delivery system with CHD’s contract-based social welfare programs in mental health, youth mentoring, family stabilization, foster care, elder care, intellectual and physical disabilities, homelessness prevention, cancer support, substance use, and juvenile justice.
Roberson was most recently Executive Director/CEO of Pathlight, an organization serving people in western Massachusetts with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Prior to that, for 15 years he was Vice President of Children and Families for CHD, a division that provides housing, stabilization, child development, behavioral health, and court-guided support services. He was responsible for expansion of all services and managing relationships with local, state and federal agencies.
Before becoming a vice president at CHD, he served in a variety of capacities here, including managing two large residential facilities as Director of Juvenile Justice Programs. Previously, he was a lead treatment supervisor for the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, where he supervised treatment staff and developed treatment programs for inmates housed in the pre-release center.
“It is very exciting to be back with CHD and be a part of such an amazing team,” said Roberson. “CHD is an innovative organization that is always growing and further developing its service models to meet the needs of the populations it serves. I’m honored to take on my new role with this agency.”
CHD President and CEO Jim Goodwin said that Roberson has a proven record of success in operations and planning. “John is a resourceful and strategic nonprofit executive who has clearly demonstrated his strong leadership skills over the years,” he said. “I’ve seen his ability to get things done firsthand. He is well-poised to build on CHD’s commitment to providing exceptional, quality care to the underserved.”
Roberson has served as a board member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, the Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School of Excellence, the Springfield College Social Work Advisory Board, and the Bay Path University Advisory Board. He earned a master’s degree in Business Management/Organizational Leadership from Cambridge College in Springfield.