Catholic Charities

When Rob Nicolella was a teenager living up in upstate New York, he and a friend were walking through the parking lot of a local skating arena on the way to meet up with other high school friends for a hockey game. It was a mid-winter night and as typically cold as Schenectady gets that time of year. The two friends came across a homeless man in ob... vious need of help. Instead of meeting up with the rest of the group, they made it their mission to find the man shelter that night. After checking numerous shelters and being told there was no room, the teens were becoming distraught. They couldnt leave this man. How would he survive the cold that night? The only place they found shelter was the local police station and the man would have to stay in a waiting room. Rob was shocked that there were no consistent programs available to help the homeless at the time. That feeling of desperation stayed with him motivated Nicolella to embark on a long career in social work. Prior to his appointment as Executive Director, Nicolella served Catholic Charities as County Administrator for 18 years. In that role he secured and managed a number of large government grants, supervised programs including soup kitchens, adult daycare, community support, veterans and immigration services, and more. Prior to Catholic Charities, Nicolella served as Community Services manager for the County of Chester, West Chester, PA; Mental Health Coordinator for Northwestern Human Services, Lansdale, PA; Social Work Supervisor for the Salvation Army, Norristown, PA; Consultant for the Department of Human Services, Philadelphia. He also served as Youth Coordinator for a special program known as C.A.P.T.A.I.N. (Community Action Programs For Teens and Interested Neighbors) in Clifton Park, NY. He earned his Bachelors degree in Education from the University of Dayton, OH and his Masters of Social Work from Temple University, Philadelphia.Read More