William Gettman
Northern Rivers
William T. (Bill) Gettman Jr. joined Northern Rivers Family of Services as Chief Executive Officer in 2016. Joining at a time when the organization was entering a period of transformative change, he is responsible for the development and construction of a system of care that determines how Northern Rivers and its member agencies, Northeast Parent & Child Society, Parsons Child & Family Center, and Unlimited Potential, care for children, adults, and families. He provides strategic guidance, infrastructure oversight, and administrative leadership to the 1,400-strong workforce, and he works as a tireless advocate for Northern Rivers employees as well as the 18,000 children, adults, and families they serve.
Gettman brings more than 30 years’ executive management experience in nonprofit, private, and public sector organizations. Before joining Northern Rivers, he served as Executive Director of St. Catherine’s Center for Children in Albany. Previously he was the Executive Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer for the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). He has also held leadership positions for private and public sector organizations focused on providing child welfare services and programs, including MAXIMUS, the New York State Child Support Processing Center (formerly Lockheed Martin IMS), the New York State Department of Social Services and UNISYS Corporation.
He serves as chair of the New York State Justice Center Advisory Council. He is a member of the New York State Behavioral Health Services Advisory Council and chair of the Mental Health Association of New York State. He is treasurer and board member of the State Children’s Mental Health Coalition and serves as a director of the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA).
Gettman earned his bachelor’s degree in religion from Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, Ohio) and his master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University.
In 2019, he received the Leila Salmon Advocacy Award from the Mental Health Association of New York State, and in 2020, the Capital Region Chamber presented Gettman with the Nonprofit Executive Leadership Award.
