Hospice of Santa Cruz County CEO Michael Milward, who has led the organization since 2012, will retire this month and Cathy Conway, currently chief mission officer, will take the helm June 1.
The announcement comes after a lengthy and deliberate process led by the Hospice of Santa Cruz County Board of Directors who established a search committee late last fall after Milward announced plans to retire in 2020. The committee screened and hired a nationally known executive search firm which reviewed a pool of more than 100 national, regional and local candidates. After the interviews, Conway received the unanimous support of the board.
“Bringing a new leader into an organization can create a lot of uncertainty and change. I am very happy we have a strong internal candidate who knows our community, our staff, and our culture. I am confident that Cathy will best serve the agency and our community in the times ahead,” said Robert Kaswen, board president.
Cathy Conway
Conway has been with Hospice since 2004 and was formerly executive director of the Santa Cruz County Symphony, development director of the Santa Cruz AIDS Project, and district manager at Ziff-Davis Publishing. She has a master’s degree in nonprofit management and has extensive experience serving the community. She serves on the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce Board, the Mount Madonna Institute Board, and is a member of the Dominican Hospital Women of Wellness Council, the United Way Women in Philanthropy committee and the Cabrillo College Women’s Educational Success committee.
“Cathy has been a key ambassador and advocate of our mission in the larger Santa Cruz County community for more than 15 years,” said Milward. “She is a valued and trusted member of our senior leadership team, and has been an indispensable partner to me in leading the organization. I couldn’t be more proud to be passing the baton to Cathy and to be leaving the organization I care so deeply about in such good hands.”
“It’s an honor to step into this role after working side-by-side this exceptional group of people committed to our vision that all community members may live and die with dignity,” Conway said. “I have deep gratitude to Mike and the leaders that have come before me. I look forward to building upon their vision to ensure long-term vitality during this complex and changing time in healthcare.”
Milward joined Hospice of Santa Cruz County after a career of more than 30 years in law where he ran his own law practice. Since 1997, he worked in end-of-life care as a hospice chaplain and bereavement specialist. During his tenure, he added a music therapy program, Camp Erin Santa Cruz, Palliative Care and Concurrent Care for Children.
He was the key architect of the California Hospice Network, a partnership committed to sustaining local, nonprofit, community-based hospice care throughout California, of which Hospice of Santa Cruz County is a founding member.