North Star of Chester County welcomes new executive director

WEST CHESTER » North Star of Chester County is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Executive Director, Donald Neimetz. Donald received his undergraduate degree from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and his Master’s in NonProfit Management from Eastern University at St Davids. He began his role as Executive Director on June 8, 2020 after an extensive and rigorous search led by the North Star Board of Directors with consultant Pamela Leland.

“I look forward to working with our group of professional staff, participants, and partners in the community that are passionate about bringing financial stability to working single parent families in Chester County,” said Neimetz.

Most recently, Donald served as the Executive Director for Living Hope

Global Ministries, helping impoverished children in Kenya, China, and Honduras. He oversaw a new program to serve orphaned children in Honduras, including the building of a campus, dormitory, and children’s center. Before shifting to the non-profit world, Donald enjoyed a successful management tenure with Fastenal Corporation.

“Donald identified in that career shift that he wanted to be with an organization that helps people gain skills to improve the lives of their families. North Star is the perfect place to share that gift,” said Stuart Brooks, Board President of North Star of Chester County.

North Star of Chester County prevents homelessness for single working parents, providing up to three years of financial assistance, for qualified families, and education to help participants become selfsufficient. Successful graduates of the program are able to maintain housing without help from other community resources. Since 1993, North Star has helped hundreds of hardworking families remain in their homes. The change in leadership came as a result of Joyce Lacy’s retirement, who served as Executive Director for nearly ten years.

“Joyce’s leadership has turned North Star from the “best kept secret” in Chester County into an organization poised to serve the growing needs of our community well into the future,” said Brooks. “During her time, we have doubled our capacity to serve families in need, formed critical partnerships throughout the county, and built a loyal base of supporters who understand the value of helping single parents succeed. We can’t express how grateful we all are to Joyce for her many years of service to this agency.”