Robert Koller, CEO of NEWCAP, which serves a 10-county region in northern Wisconsin with various social and economic programs, has announced his intention to retire at the end of this year. A committee is being established to find his successor.
Koller has been at the agency for 34 years, including 22 as CEO.
“At my age, nearing 79, and longevity at the post for 22 years, I believe it’s time for new leadership,” Koller wrote in a letter to the board and staff.
After severe management issues in the early 1990s that nearly closed the agency, Koller said NEWCAP has returned to economic stability. Its programs for low-income people in the 10-county region, which includes Shawano and Menominee counties, are intended to provide participants not only with emergency services, but also a path out of poverty.
“While we are one of 16 such agencies in Wisconsin, about 1,000 across the country, having been established as one arm of the war on poverty that was created by Congress in 1964, many people still do not know what we do,” Koller said.
Information about NEWCAP is available online at www.newcap.org. Information about the agency’s Community Health Services programs can be found at www.newcapchs.org.