The Licking County Board of Developmental Disabilities has found a new superintendent to succeed its longtime leader.
Alex Corwin, program director of the Lifespan Transitions Center at OCALI, will assume the role Oct. 27, according to a Sept. 5 announcement. Corwin has experience as an adult day services manager, service and support administrator and supervisor, among other roles, the organization stated in a news release.
He will succeed Wendy Gorrell, who has served as interim superintendent since the April departure of Jason Umstot, who worked for the board for nearly a decade.
With OCALI, also known as Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence, Corwin helped lead statewide technical assistance and professional development efforts for schools, county boards and state agencies, according to the release. He also helped develop resources for some Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities programming.
“We are very excited,” board President David Doney said in the release. “Alex stood out from all the other candidates — they were all exceptional — but his enthusiasm for helping people with disabilities rose to the top. He has it in his background and his bloodline and we are really excited to have him come on board.”
Corwin has a master’s degree in public policy and administration from Ohio State University. He expressed interest in getting to know Licking County during the recruitment process, but his professional portfolio and various ideas on how to better the area also impressed board members, the agency stated.
“Our number one objective was to find someone who was going to be supportive of the people we serve,” Doney said in the release. “That was number one and it will always be number one. We were all impressed with Alex and we can’t wait for him to start and lead LCBDD.”
Corwin will take over for Gorrell, who stepped in as interim superintendent April 7 following Umstot’s departure April 4. She is the superintendent of the Morgan County Board of Developmental Disabilities but has been assisting the Licking County board during its transitional period.
Gorrell will remain in the interim role until Corwin begins.
“We can’t thank Wendy enough for all that she’s done for LCBDD and the people we support,” Doney said in the release. “We are so thankful that she has been in our community and kept things going in the right direction.”
Umstot announced he was leaving LCBDD in March to take a position at the Ohio Health Care Association, which advocates for Ohio’s health care providers. He spent nine years as superintendent and CEO of LCBDD.
The organization in the coming weeks expects to announce more information about Corwin’s arrival, including opportunities when families the board supports and other community members can meet him.
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