Ken­neth Young Cen­ter Wel­comes New CEO Mau­rice D. Ware

March 28, 2025

Ken­neth Young Cen­ter (KYC) is proud to announce the appoint­ment of Mau­rice D. Ware as our new Pres­i­dent and Chief Exec­u­tive Offi­cer, effec­tive April 7, 2025.

Mr. Ware brings over two decades of expe­ri­ence in non­prof­it and behav­ioral health lead­er­ship across Ohio, North Car­oli­na, and Michi­gan. His career is defined by trans­for­ma­tion­al lead­er­ship, oper­a­tional excel­lence, and deep com­mit­ment to access and equi­ty in behav­ioral healthcare.

“Our mis­sion has nev­er been more impor­tant, so the Board had excep­tion­al­ly high stan­dards for who would lead the already strong team at KYC,” said Eliz­a­beth Demaret, Chair of the Board of Direc­tors. ​“We know we found the right per­son to dri­ve the next chap­ter of KYC’s suc­cess in Mau­rice Ware.”

Most recent­ly, Mr. Ware served as the Chief Exec­u­tive Offi­cer of Oesterlen Ser­vices for Youth in Ohio, where he led a strate­gic turn­around that sta­bi­lized ser­vices, tran­si­tioned core pro­gram­ming, and pre­served the orga­ni­za­tion’s lega­cy through the cre­ation of a new grant­mak­ing foun­da­tion. He pre­vi­ous­ly served as Vice Pres­i­dent of Res­i­den­tial Ser­vices at The Buck­eye Ranch, lead­ing sys­tem-wide improve­ments that increased client sat­is­fac­tion, reduced staff turnover, and improved access to care. He holds a Master’s Degree in Coun­sel­ing Psy­chol­o­gy from West­ern Michi­gan Uni­ver­si­ty and a Bachelor’s Degree in Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion from North­wood University.

“I look for­ward to part­ner­ing with Mr. Ware to fur­ther orga­ni­za­tion­al excel­lence at KYC,” said Steve Gay­dos, Chief Finan­cial Offi­cer and cur­rent Inter­im Chief Exec­u­tive Offi­cer. ​“You won’t find a more com­mit­ted and com­pas­sion­ate team, and I know our best days are still ahead of us.”

As KYC’s next CEO, Mr. Ware will work close­ly with the Board of Direc­tors and the Lead­er­ship Team to strength­en the agency’s finan­cial foun­da­tion, expand ser­vices, and ensure that every­one in the com­mu­ni­ty can access care when they need it most.

A mes­sage from Mau­rice D. Ware:

“I am hon­ored to join an orga­ni­za­tion with such a deep lega­cy of impact and com­pas­sion. The Ken­neth Young Center’s mis­sion reflects my own com­mit­ment to build­ing sys­tems of care that are respon­sive, inclu­sive, and trans­for­ma­tive. I look for­ward to work­ing with the KYC team and our com­mu­ni­ty part­ners to ele­vate what’s pos­si­ble for those we serve.”

Please join us in wel­com­ing Mr. Ware to KYC at the Hus­tle for Health 5K Run/​Walk on May 17^th at Busse Woods, Grove 27, from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

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