The people who Try Another Way...

Advancing employment and community participation for persons with significant disabilities.

Marc Gold & Associates consists of a network of consultants who provide training and technical assistance to systems, agencies, and families interested in ensuring the complete community participation of people with significant disabilities.

Announcing

To Friends and Colleagues of MG&A:

As I have gotten older, the question of who will continue Marc Gold & Associates after I retire has come up more and more in conversations with friends and colleagues. I began reducing my work time and travel starting about four years ago. In the fall of 2017, I reduced my work time to 50% in what I have planned to be a five-year glide slope towards eventual full retirement. At that same time, I identified four people, all a generation younger than I am, who I’d known and respected for a number of years. These four individuals included Ellen Condon of Montana, Randy Dicks of Pennsylvania, Lisa Mills of Wisconsin and Therese Fimian of Virginia as a group that I would feel comfortable taking over the reins of MG&A and guiding it into the future. I basically offered them the same deal that Marc Gold intended to offer those of us working for him in 1982 just before his death – the company is yours for no charge if you are willing to take on the responsibilities of taking it forward. This was a big ask since, even though I knew each of them personally and professionally, they did not know each other nearly as well. In the past two years, this group has met a number of times to ask the questions, form the relationships and ponder the possibilities necessary to make a decision for ownership. That decision could be by the group as a whole, from two or three of the individuals or from one person who might want to step forward to lead the others.

In March of this year Therese Fimian took the bold step forward to offer to lead MG&A. She polled each member of the team and found full support for her decision. Personally, I was thrilled as I believe Therese has the skills, experience and energy necessary for the job. I have known and worked closely with her for eight years during MG&A’s contract with the Pathways to Careers initiative funded by Source America. Therese has been the director of this innovative endeavor since taking over when Martin Gerry died in 2016. Every aspect of the Pathways initiative is consistent with the best values and processes of MG&A and Therese’s guidance has been outstanding. She left Source America in early July and is now MG&A’s Director of Operations during the transition period of the next three years. I look forward to a seamless transition as Therese takes on greater and greater responsibilities. She and her team will work with me and all our associates and mentors to forge new possibilities for the future. I cannot overstate how excited I am about this and how comfortable I am that Therese has decided to accept the challenge. Please stay tuned for what is next.

Michael Callahan, Owner and President, Marc Gold & Associates