Michael Vanderburgh has stepped down as Executive Director after eight years at St. Vincent de Paul Society of Dayton.
Angie Grilliot, his former chief of staff, will lead the local, faith-based nonprofit in the interim.
A committee is now searching for a new executive director to oversee the nonprofit's $14 million dollar budget for 2026.
WYSO’s Shay Frank sat down with Vanderburgh on Wednesday to learn more about what’s next for him and the community he served for nearly a decade.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Shay Frank: So what got you involved with working with Saint Vincent de Paul of Dayton?
Michael Vanderburgh: Well, it's a faith based ministry and I'm a faith based person and I've worked in faith based ministries for many decades and I've grown a fondness for people who are outcast and people who are separated from the deep relationships in their lives and who need a concerning person to be in front of them.
Frank: So what were your responsibilities as the executive director of this organization?
Vanderburgh: So over that period, we had about anywhere from 120 to 160 full-time employees and we had about 1,000 active volunteers in the community. For most of that time we ran two very large homeless shelters 24/7, and we also have about 150 or so men, women and children in supportive housing. And then we have about 30 what we call conferences across the Miami Valley whose volunteers help keep people stable in their homes and who run food pantries and who do clothing assistance and utility assistance, rent assistance, and connecting people to other resources in the community again to keep them stable. So my role was to kind of be the ringleader of all of that and provide the resources and provide the people to do the work.
Frank: So, tell me about some of the highlights of the work that you've done while you were in those eight years with St. Vincent.
Vanderburgh: I got about a year under my belt before things got a little crazy with first the Memorial Day tornadoes and then the Oregon District shooting and then the pandemic. So that was kind of a trifecta of real trauma to the community where the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was ready to assist.
But I think the most enduring experience from that was building relationships where we could count on one another. That really became helpful when the pandemic came.
Vanderburgh: We also saw as a result of the pandemic, just like in other areas of the country, a lot of government funding that became available. Unfortunately that also created some inflationary pressures and in the last couple of years we've really seen the effects of that with the funding running out but the costs still being high.
Frank: Tell me about why you've decided to depart from your role as executive director with St. Vincent de Paul.
Vanderburgh: This past year in particular for me has been a very traumatic year.
I've had some deaths in my family, multiple deaths in my family throughout the year, people very close to me, and some separation of family members. So like a lot of the folks that I've assisted over the years, those are some common things. What makes my situation different than many of the people that I've served is that I have a lot of deep relationships in my life and I have a lot of supportive family and friends and that makes all the difference.
It struck me that after an eight year run, this is a good time for me to take some time off and kind of reflect and do some writing and you know, kind of set a course for myself going forward that probably has me doing something a little bit different.
Frank: Can you tell me about who will be taking over after you have left until they find that new executive director?
Vanderburgh: Yes! So, Angie Grillio is the interim executive director, and she was my chief of staff for several years. And she's a tremendous leader, a wonderfully gifted person.
She has decades of experience in talent management and human resources, and project management and leading people, equipping leaders, really mentoring people. Everything, in my opinion, that is good for a leader of an organization.
Frank: Do you know kind of what the organization is looking for in an executive director?
Vanderburgh: First and foremost the leader has to be committed to grow in their own faith life and committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to again be very attentive to the particular needs of people in great need, particularly people who are homeless and people who are experiencing great loss in their lives.
