Ivan Gilreath to take the helm as BGCS President and CEO
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale (BGCS), a youth development organization serving thousands of kids and teens at nine locations in and around the north Valley, announced that Ivan Gilreath will fill the role of President and Chief Executive Officer beginning Monday, Feb. 1.
“The BGCS Board of Governors is excited to begin this new chapter with Ivan in the top executive spot,” said Janet Caldarelli, Chair of the BGCS Board of Governors. “His more than two decades of corporate executive experience including success in strategic planning, growth, and community engagement will be an asset as we continue to expand our community alliances and strive to serve more kids and teens with an exceptional Club experience.”
Gilreath is relocating to the Valley from Omaha, Nebraska, where he served for 10 years as President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of The Midlands. Prior to that, he spent five years as President of ING’s Employee Benefits Division and 20 years in Mutual of Omaha’s Group Insurance Division, respectively.
“I am excited to join BGC of Greater Scottsdale and work with the team and Board of Governors to bring quality, safe programming and to grow our membership in the Greater Scottsdale area,” said Gilreath. “I am very familiar with the area from my many trips to visit my children here, but I am looking forward to digging even deeper into what we can do to be even more effective in serving our community.”
Over the past year in response to COVID-19, BGCS adapted its youth development model to provide childcare and a place for kids to do their distance learning—an essential service for parents/guardians who are not able to stay home with their children.
Amidst the service adaptations and new comprehensive safety measures put in place, Caldarelli explained that the nonprofit also opened a community impact site in the north Phoenix community of Anthem and completed construction on its first dedicated makerspace focusing on science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) in the Virginia G. Piper Branch located in the Scottsdale Ranch neighborhood.
“Our board was unanimous in the selection of Ivan to be the next Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale President and CEO as we focus on impactful youth development programming and strengthening our community engagement,” said Caldarelli.
In Nebraska, Gilreath served on the University of Nebraska – Omaha College of Business National Advisory Board, the Jesuit Academy Board of Directors, the University of Nebraska Board of Trustees, the College of Saint Mary Board of Directors, and the University of Nebraska Foundation Governance Committee.
He received a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an MBA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
