The president and chief executive officer of Catholic Charities Hawaii, Terry Walsh, has resigned after two years on the job.
In a Nov. 3 statement, Bishop Larry Silva, who is the Catholic Charities corporation director, thanked Walsh “for all he has done” for the organization. No reason was given for his resignation.
The bishop said that Stella Wong, Catholic Charities’ longtime vice president of programs, will serve as acting president/CEO while a national search for a new leader begins soon.
Walsh, who is originally from Michigan, earned his bachelor’s degree in behavioral science at Chaminade University in Honolulu, which is also where he met his future wife, Shari Patterson.
During his first five years in the islands from 1990-1994 he also taught special needs students at Washington Intermediate School and was a counselor for troubled teens at Hale Kipa, both in Honolulu.
He went on to earn a master’s of social work with an administration major from the University of Michigan and a master’s of business administration from Michigan State University.
Walsh worked for Catholic Charities in Lansing and Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Newark, New Jersey, served as a child welfare and refugee experts in the U.S. and in Africa, and held intercultural, international and engagement positions at Michigan State University.
Walsh was president and CEO of Catholic Charities West Michigan for three years before taking on the same role for Catholic Charities Hawaii on Nov. 1, 2016.
Walsh was hired after the retirement of Jerry Rauckhorst, Catholic Charities Hawaii’s previous CEO of almost 21 years.