A nearly five-month, national search for a president and CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis ended Nov. 10 with the announcement that Michael Goar, leader of Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities, will replace Tim Marx effective Jan. 4.

“I am profoundly humbled and grateful for the opportunity to join this extraordinary team and to advocate for and serve the most vulnerable members of our community,” Goar said in a statement.

Michael Goar

Marx announced June 12 he was stepping down after nearly 10 years at the helm of the Twin Cities’ largest social services nonprofit. He said he would help search for, and ease the transition of, a new president and CEO. Marx will become Catholic Charities’ first president emeritus and focus on strategic projects.

“I am impressed with Michael’s passion and his grasp of the complex and dynamic environment in which service and social justice advocacy organizations like ours operate,” Marx said. “I’m delighted that he’ll be succeeding me, and I will do everything possible to make his transition seamless and successful.”

Goar will lead an organization that last year celebrated its 150th anniversary. Catholic Charities has more than 500 employees and a large footprint in efforts to end homelessness, serve meals and provide assistance to people in need and those facing mental health and other challenges. Last year alone, Catholic Charities served more than 23,000 men, women, children and families.

Catholic Charities also faces challenges that include serving people while keeping them safe in the midst of a global pandemic and promoting racial justice, particularly in the wake of local and national protests and riots that erupted after the May 25, police-involved death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, an African American.

In addition to Big Brothers Big Sisters, Goar has served as CEO and interim superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, and executive director of Generation Next, a Twin Cities-based youth development organization. He has held executive positions and chief operating officer roles for Boston Public and Memphis City schools.

A native of South Korea, Goar was adopted by a Minnesota family and moved to the United States at age 12. He told the search committee that “as a biracial child in South Korea, especially one with a Black biological father, my educational and career options were limited; schooling was sporadic, bullying was ever-present and finding role models who looked like me was rare. Moving to Minnesota and becoming a U.S. citizen changed my life forever as I was now able to see possibilities I had never imagined before.”

A Christian, Goar said Catholic social teachings are the strength of Catholic Charities, and he is well-steeped in those teachings.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis immediately congratulated Goar.

“I am grateful that Michael Goar has agreed to accept the challenge of leading Catholic Charities at this point in our history,” the archbishop said in a statement. “For 150 years, Catholic Charities has offered an opportunity for members of this community to put our faith into action. It has been a privileged means for showing our support for Catholic social teaching and, in particular, our belief that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and worthy of dignity and respect regardless of faith, background or circumstance. I look forward to working with Michael as Catholic Charities continues its important ministry of building relationships rooted in fraternal love and a shared sense of justice.”

Father Charles Lachowitzer, vicar general and moderator of the curia in the archdiocese and a Catholic Charities board member, said he, too, looks forward to working with Goar.

“His experience in education and social organizations both locally and nationally makes him uniquely qualified to be able to serve those in need and create relationships that will keep Catholic Charities strong as it enters its 151st year of service,” Father Lachowitzer said.