Bob Gittens to Step Down from Bridges Homeward Executive Director after Seven Years

It is with appreciation and sadness that we announce that Bob Gittens has decided to step down from his position as Bridges Homeward Executive Director later this year. Bob joined our agency in 2016 and led us with pride and esteem. He has made an indelible impression on our organization, and he will be sorely missed. 

Bob’s decision to step down is a personal one. After a long career dedicated to public and community service, he is now ready to begin his transition to retirement. Before Bridges Homeward, Bob served the Commonwealth in many capacities: as the Governor’s Deputy Chief Legal Counsel, chairman of the Parole Board, Commissioner of the Department of Youth Services, Cabinet Secretary at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and more. He also served the Northeastern University community as Vice President for Public Affairs. 

Bob’s dedication to helping others is evident to all who work with him. As our Executive Director, he led us through some of the most trying times in our organization’s (and our country’s) history, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his careful leadership, we had minimal foster placement disruptions and maintained the health and safety of all our group home residents throughout 2020.  

Bob has also guided significant growth at our agency. In 2019 we launched Weekend Family Connections, a collaboration with the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange and the Department of Children and Families. And our Family Support & Stabilization program has seen steady growth, including the expansion of their Independent Living program and addition of their Young Parents Support and Healthy Families programs in recent years. 

Perhaps Bob’s biggest contribution to Bridges Homeward is his initiative to embed permanency-informed social work practice into all of our programs. Since 2017, Bob has guided the development of our permanency practice, partnering with leaders like Plummer Youth Promise to train and support our staff in an entirely permanency-focused approach to social work. With Bob’s leadership, our agency remains an active leader in the Massachusetts Permanency Practice Alliance.  

Bob plans to formally step down as Executive Director by the end of 2023. Bridges Homeward has retained Isaacson, Miller, an executive search firm based in Boston, to conduct the search for our next Executive Director. You can view further details and submit all inquiries, nominations, and applications on their website.