Cunningham Children’s Home, an exemplary child welfare and educational services agency that provides caring support and therapeutic intervention through comprehensive programs, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Anthony “Tony” Wilson as its new Director of Residential and Clinical Services. Cunningham offers residential treatment, special education, and community-based services. This significant milestone results from a successful partnership with executive search firm KEES. Assuming his new role effective July 22, 2024, Wilson will provide leadership for the therapeutic treatment of clients in Cunningham’s Qualified Residential Treatment Program (QRTP) and group homes.

With 30 years of experience in Residential Centers primarily in the child welfare field, Wilson has worked with challenging units and understands that the work can be hard and heavy. Wilson joins Cunningham Children’s Home with a wealth of expertise, previously serving as Program Director at The Baby Fold and, prior to that, as Executive Director at Nexus, Woodbourne. His background encompasses strategic planning, financial management, and relationship building. 

“I am excited to serve the mission of Cunningham Children’s Home, which aligns with my commitment to nurturing hope and helping youth and families thrive,” said Wilson. “When youth are offered hope, they can achieve their goals. Sometimes we all need support to overcome obstacles. I look forward to working alongside Marlin Livingston, LCSW and President/CEO, and the Cunningham team to ensure our programs effectively meet the needs of youth and help them succeed.”

“With extensive background in child welfare and mental health, Tony is set to lead initiatives that will enhance the care and support provided to the youth and families we serve. His commitment to fostering a nurturing environment aligns perfectly with our mission to empower and uplift those in need,” said Livingston. “We also extend our gratitude to KEES for their exceptional expertise during the search process. This is a unique and difficult role to fill, and KEES was creative, adaptive, and tireless in their outreach efforts.”

Cunningham Children’s Home retained KEES, a premier executive search firm specializing in executive searches for top nonprofit executive positions, as its executive search partner early in 2024. A comprehensive search was launched, and Wilson was ultimately selected from a passionate and motivated pool of finalists. KEES provided essential expertise in sourcing and recruiting, ensuring a thorough candidate evaluation to identify and find top-tier candidates who aligned with the company’s culture to drive long-term success.

“KEES is thrilled to see the results of this executive search and the leadership Tony will bring to Cunningham Children’s Home,” says KEES Project Manager Randi Blasutti. “Congratulations to everyone involved, especially the youth and staff at Cunningham who will greatly benefit from Tony’s expertise and guidance. We valued our partnership with the Cunningham team throughout this important search and look forward to continuing our partnership to foster positive change in the future.”

ABOUT CUNNINGHAM CHILDREN’S HOME

Located in Urbana, IL, Cunningham Children’s Home provides caring support and therapeutic intervention to more than 846 youth and families annually through comprehensive programs including residential treatment, special education, and community-based services.

Today, Cunningham is a fiscally healthy organization with a $31M annual operating budget and an endowment of $38M, with a state-of-the-art facility that sits on a 37-acre wooded campus supported by an overall team of 400 staff members. To learn more, please visit www.cunningham.org.

ABOUT KEES

KEES (formerly Alford Executive Search) is a nonprofit executive search firm that builds diverse teams with dynamic leaders in the nonprofit and public sectors. A woman owned and operated firm, KEES offers a full array of nonprofit consulting services including executive search, leadership development, interim staffing, and HR support. Throughout its decades of work, child welfare and human services agencies have been a core focus of KEES work. For more information, please visit www.kees2success.com.

# # #

KEES MEDIA CONTACT:

Jamie Sheffler, jsheffler@kees2success.com

CUNNINGHAM CHILDREN’S HOME MEDIA CONTACT:

Ginger Mills, gmills@cunninghamhome.org