Living Courageously In & Out

Gregory T. Miller | President & CEO, Penn-Mar Human Services

BY KATIE MAHONEY | VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

“This has never been a job, it’s an extension of who I am,” shares Greg Miller, President and CEO of Penn-Mar Human Services. With the organization 34 years, Greg has grown with the organization as it evolved from three small community homes.

“Each time I needed to take the next step, it was available at Penn-Mar,” he shares. “When I got better at what I did, we got better at what we do as an organization.”

I’m very proud of our team. It’s part of the DNA of Penn-Mar that whatever we were doing today, we need to do it better tomorrow.

- Greg Miller, President & CEO, Penn-Mar

And what they do, is support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live courageously. “It could be someone who gets a job and now has a social network they never had before, or someone who moves into a place that is perfect for them. We work with them, not for them, to help them achieve what they want their life to look like,” explains Greg.

With a team of 600, Penn-Mar supports Northern Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania regions by helping individuals with disabilities explore more of the world around them than they have been accustomed to exploring on their own through programs like community living, day learning, employment, transiting youth, family & peer support, and respite services. “I’m very proud of our team,” shares Greg. “It’s part of the DNA of Penn-Mar that whatever we were doing today, we need to do it better tomorrow. We were ahead of the curve by 10-12 years on individualized community-based support (instead of large group facilities), which is now being Federally mandated.”

To support his team, Greg and Penn-Mar have launched an internal program, the Belonging Initiative, to celebrate each team member bringing their best, natural self to Penn-Mar each day, where they feel valued in the context of the larger team. “It’s not just what we say, but it’s how we are living it through the entire organization,” he explains.

In addition to the team, the community support is a significant factor in the success of Penn-Mar, and the individuals who benefit from their services. “We could not do what we do without the support our local communities,” shares Greg. “Come visit, we love to show people what we do.”

310 Old Freeland Road Freeland, MD 21053 | penn-mar.org | 410.343.1069