The Arc of Madison Cortland is pleased to announce Perry Courto as the new executive director of the nonprofit devoted to providing support and services to people with developmental and other disabilities. Along with this transition, there will be two other internal promotions. Chris Evans and Karen Manser will be assuming new positions and responsibilities effective July 1st, 2019.
A Syracuse University graduate, Courto has been with the Agency since 1998, when the executive director at the time, Ray Lewandowski asked him to join the Arc family. Perry started as Director of Management Services & Finance and was promoted to Controller before becoming the Chief Financial Officer in 2015, and Associate Executive Director & CFO in 2016.
“I am honored to be the third Executive Director in the last 42 years and am extremely proud to work with over 480 dedicated and hardworking employees that support over a thousand individuals with developmental disabilities. I look forward to the positive impact I hope to achieve as well as making my predecessor, Jack Campbell, proud and worry-free in his well-deserved retirement,” Courto stated.
Chris Evans, a SUNY Potsdam graduate with a B.A. in Sociology, began her tenure with The Arc of Madison Cortland in 1992 as a Direct Support Professional. She worked her way through the organization to her most recent position of Director of Operations, Certified Site-Based Programs. She will assume the role of Associate Executive Director and her wealth of industry experience will be an asset to this role and the Arc’s vision.
“I have been fortunate to have been able to start my career with a small Agency and have been able to grow as it grew,” said Evans. “As I look into the future, I feel even more fortunate for the number of qualified staff who provide quality services every day.”
Karen Manser graduated from LeMoyne College and has held senior management positions in the manufacturing, software, construction, service, and distribution sectors. She began at The Arc of Madison Cortland in 2014 supporting the finance office on a part-time basis. She quickly transitioned to her current role as Controller. Due to her vast financial experience, the Agency will be better poised as it transitions to Managed Care when she assumes the role of Chief Financial Officer.
Karen looks to the future with conviction, “We are entering a very challenging period in our industry as we begin a transition to managed care and are faced with a multi-faceted reduction in our funding streams, but I am very confident that we will continue to provide the outstanding supports and services to the families and individuals that have put their trust in us.”