Lay CEO to head Catholic Charities

The new leader of the Twin Cities Catholic Charities grew up in Minnesota and is its first non-priest head. The agency faces pressures within the struggling economy.

By WARREN WOLFE, Star Tribune

Last update: November 9, 2009 - 7:51 PM

The head of Catholic Charities in Phoenix will become CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the social service agency said Monday.

Paul Martodam, who led the Phoenix organization for the past 16 years will start work Jan. 1. He was appointed by Archbishop John Nienstedt to replace the Rev. John Estrem, CEO since 2005, who resigned in June, and interim CEO Robert Spinner. Estrem is now executive director of the Carmen Pampa Fund that supports a college in Bolivia.

Martodam, 59, grew up on a farm near Perham, Minn., and worked with Catholic Charities agencies in Crookston and St. Cloud before taking over the Phoenix organization.

During his tenure with the Phoenix agency, Martodam increased its annual revenue from about $8 million to more than $35 million. The Twin Cities organization serves about 35,000 people on a budget of $36 million.

Martodam will be the agency's first lay CEO -- an increasingly common phenomenon among religious social service groups seeking strong administrative and financial leadership. The local Catholic Charities unit was formed in 1977 in a merger of several Catholic agencies.

Martodam directed Catholic Charities programs at Crookston from 1977 to 1979. He was assistant director of administration for Catholic Charities at St. Cloud from 1980 to 1992, when he moved to Arizona. He holds a master's degree in nonprofit administration from St. Cloud State University.

Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis has seen growing pressure on its programs in the past year with the weaker economy, agency spokeswoman Rebecca Lentz said. Food shelf visits rose 91 percent in the past 12 months, and the Dorothy Day homeless shelter in St. Paul likely will reach its 250-person capacity when cold weather returns, she said.

Warren Wolfe • 612-673-7253

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