SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Felton Institute announced today that Albert C. Gilbert, III, Felton's Chief Operating Officer, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the award-winning agency founded by social service pioneer Katherine "Kitty" Felton in 1889. He succeeds Bob Bennett, President and CEO, who is retiring after a dynamic decade at Felton that resulted in expansion and creation of innovative, life-transformative social and mental health services for children, teens, and adults of all ages.
Bennett's many achievements include the launch of Felton’s Prevention and Recovery in Early Psychosis (PREP) program, in alliance with UCSF, that provides services in five Northern and Central California Counties and is a national model for recent-onset schizophrenia treatment. PREP honors include National Council of Behavioral Health awards in 2014 and 2015, a Health Care Innovation Challenge Grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2011, and the GAP Founders Award in 2008. Bennett also designed the CIRCE data system and its implementation on the Salesforce platform. CIRCE received the Salesforce 2011 Force-for Change Award and 2007 International "Appie" Award. In 2012, Felton created the Bipolar Early Assessment and Management Program (BEAM) with a goal of replicating the success of PREP and developing a targeted treatment for Bipolar Disorder. That program is now in two counties. Felton's Early Autism Program, working with children as young as 18 months, is scheduled to launch later this year. Felton has doubled in size under Bennett's tenure.
"I am proud that we have been able to create systems and structures that enhance the lives of those we serve," Bennett reflected. "Leading our Felton team has been the greatest honor of my life. Felton has a 126 year commitment to social justice and to innovation in service to the poor. For a brief decade, I've been a steward of that tradition. I am proud that my friend and colleague for a decade, Al Gilbert, will carry this tradition forward. Having just celebrated my 66th birthday, I now look forward to spending more time with my wife Pat, traveling, and having time to write and create art."
"Our Board thanks Bob for groundbreaking programs: internal innovation and external expansion that revived Felton and have paved the way for our organization's next chapter," said Lisa Loughney, Board Chair. "We congratulate Al as Felton Institute's new President and CEO. His eleven years of collaborative leadership have been crucial for our success, beginning as CFO and now as COO. We have great confidence in his strategic perspective, and his commitment will lead us progressively in the coming years."
Gilbert has helped expand Felton operations throughout California and forged partnerships in other states. Gilbert's career as a fiscal and strategic professional has included a wide array in many fields from technology, banking, retail, operations management, and manufacturing to education, social services, and government.
"I am excited and appreciative of the Board's entrustment of leadership in advancing Felton's commitment to exemplary service. Seeing lives made whole through Felton is a mission and charge of paramount importance," Al Gilbert said in response to the announcement. "It has been an extraordinary gift working with my friend and compassionate leader, Bob, in this decade of change and dynamic expansion."
The full Felton Institute Board includes Zeena Altamimi, Marketing Director, Shaklee Corporation; Dale Butler, Consultant, Labor and Public Sector Relations; Dr. H. Westley Clark, Dean's Executive Professor of Public Health at Santa Clara University; Michael N. Hofman, Executive Vice President, Janet Moyer Landscaping; Terry M. Limpert, Organizational Consultant; Elisabeth Madden, Partner, Lynch, Gilardi & Grummer; Amelia Morris, Director, Brandes Investment Partners L.P.; Rowena Nery, Evaluation Consultant; Eric Severson, former SVP of Global Talent Solutions, Gap; Will Smiley, Director, Commercial, Medical Affairs and Global Product Strategy Staffing, Genentech; Matthew H. Snyder, Principal, Ernst & Young; Amy Solliday, Vice President, Old Navy Store Operations; and Chris Thiele, Director, Diversity & Inclusion, McKesson.
Felton Institute was founded in San Francisco, California, by Katherine “Kitty” Felton, with the mandate that children and families in crisis must have access social services and resources in order to help them build upon their inherent strengths and develop self-sufficiency. Felton has now expanded to an organization of national importance and statewide scope. www.felton.org
