LEWISTON — Mike Burke, the longtime president and chief executive officer of Community Concepts, stepped down Wednesday.
Mike Carey, incoming chairman of Community Concepts’ board of directors, said Maine-based organizational and leadership consultant Cathy Kidman will serve as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement for Burke.
Carey issued a statement on behalf of the board:
“After 32 years of dedicated service to Community Concepts, Inc., Mike Burke has stepped down from his position as chief executive officer,” Carey wrote in an email. “The organization has appointed an external executive to serve as interim CEO as the search for a permanent CEO is undertaken. From a strong financial position and successful programming, Community Concepts, Inc. will continue to focus on its mission of providing services to communities in Western Maine.”
Carey declined to comment on the circumstances of Burke’s departure or the search for his replacement.
“Once we are ready to announce, I know we will post that in a number of places,” Carey said. “I don’t know when. We have not talked about explicit schedules at this point.”
According to the Community Concepts website, Burke graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington with a bachelor’s degree in social science and education. He had completed a program at the Executive Development Institute at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and is an alumnus of Leadership Maine.
He has also served on the boards of the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition, Black Mountain of Maine and the Western Maine Palliative Care and Hospice Coalition.
Community Concepts is headquartered in Lewiston, with offices in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties. The nonprofit agency offers a number of services for the poor, including fuel assistance, transportation, money management guidance, drug and alcohol counseling and assistance in buying and building homes. The agency also coordinates the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
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