James Morgan

The Santa Clarita Valley Committee on Aging has hired an experienced nonprofit executive with a track record of successful capital campaigns to take over as the new executive director of the SCV Senior Center.

James Morgan, who has served as executive director of several nonprofit agencies, assumes his new role effective today. Senior Center leaders said he was selected after a thorough and extensive executive search process.

"We're extremely pleased that James Morgan has agreed to take over as the leader of our Senior Center," said Rick Patterson, president of the COA, which oversees the Senior Center's operations. "He has built a remarkable career at all levels of nonprofit management. His experience working with multiple, high-profile nonprofits will be invaluable to our organization and to the seniors of the Santa Clarita Valley."

Prior to joining the Senior Center, Morgan has created a highly respected track record building capacity in numerous nonprofit organizations throughout Southern California and Asia.

"Mr. Morgan has a strong record of growth and expansion of both facilities and services everywhere he has served," Patterson said. "That's a key for the Senior Center as we look ahead, anticipating a period of increasing needs, a growing senior population and a need for our organization to improve and expand its facilities and programs. He is just the right person, with the energy, enthusiasm and knowledge to lead the organization through this exciting period of change."

Morgan has turned around a number of organizations in Southern California, and recently completed a $4.8 million capital campaign in Southwest Riverside County. He directed through the construction of the new community center, and is excited about joining the Senior Center's team and expanding its services to meet the growing demand of seniors in the area.

"This is a nonprofit executive's dream job," Morgan said. "It's an opportunity to serve an outstanding community and experience the tremendous rewards of providing valuable services to all of the community's seniors, and in particular seniors who are in need. I'm also excited about taking on the challenge of helping the Senior Center build for the future. The next few years are going to be an exciting time at the Senior Center and I'm so pleased that I have been invited to be part of it."

A major goal of the COA is to bring the Senior Center into the 21st century, providing its employees with up-to-date equipment and facilities to help them best serve the center's clients. Along with the SCV Senior Center Foundation — the Senior Center's fundraising organization — the COA has formed an exploratory committee to address the future needs of seniors with a new, larger center.

The SCV Senior Center, located at 22900 Market St. in Santa Clarita, provides numerous programs and services for its clients, including health and wellness seminars, arts and entertainment activities, handy workers and day care providers, daily lunches and more than 300 meals a day delivered to homebound seniors. More information about the Senior Center's programs and services is available at www.scvsc.org, and information on how to contribute to the Senior Center through the Foundation is available at www.scvseniorfoundation.org.