New Leadership Roles for Marcel Wright and Dr. Jimmy Venza
Rockville, MD – The Lourie Center for Children’s Social & Emotional Wellness (Lourie Center) is excited to announce that Marcel Wright, MBA, has been appointed Associate Vice President of Operations for Adventist HealthCare Behavioral Health & Wellness Services (BH&WS), the behavioral health division of Adventist HealthCare. Wright’s transition to a new role at BH&WS means that Jimmy Venza, Ph.D., has been promoted to the role of Executive Director for the Lourie Center. They will assume their new roles on June 6.
“Marcel and Dr. Venza are invaluable members of our leadership team who have worked alongside each other to expand the Lourie Center’s services within our region and help position the organization as a national leader in the field of early childhood mental health,” said Kevin Young, President of Adventist HealthCare Behavioral Health & Wellness Services. “I look forward to working more closely with them to help Lourie Center and Behavioral Health & Wellness Services continue to grow.”
As Associate Vice President of Operations, Wright will provide operational leadership for the growing behavioral health division, including the Rockville, Takoma Park and Lourie Center locations, and our services on the Eastern Shore. Wright will also lead the strategic planning, business development and intake functions at each facility.
Since joining Adventist HealthCare in 2002, Wright has held several positions of increasing responsibility, including Human Resources Director and Senior Director of Operations for BH&WS’ Rockville campus. He was appointed Executive Director of the Lourie Center in 2009.
Wright holds a master's degree in business administration from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and a bachelor's degree in administration from Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University).
Dr. Venza’s new role as Executive Director of the Lourie Center will include managing the center’s four core programs: The Lourie Center School, Therapeutic Nursery Programs (TNP), Parent-Child Clinic Services Program, and Early Head Start Program. He will also continue to work closely with community and policy leaders to identify opportunities to expand services to more children and families in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore areas.
Dr. Venza began his career at the Lourie Center in 2003 to complete his postdoctoral training in the TNP and Parent-Child Clinical Services Program. In 2004, he assumed the role of Director of the TNP. He was promoted to Associate Executive Director of the Lourie Center in 2008, and assumed the role of Senior Director of Clinical Operations and Research in 2014. Dr. Venza earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology and history from the University of Notre Dame and a doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Long Island University's Brooklyn campus.
About The Lourie Center for Children’s Social & Emotional Wellness
The Lourie Center for Children's Social & Emotional Wellness is a private, non-profit agency with a mission to improve the social and emotional health of young children and their families through prevention, early intervention, education, research and training. The Center was founded in 1983 by the late Dr. Reginald S. Lourie, a world-wide leader in the fields of pediatric child psychiatry and infant mental health, and his colleagues, including Dr. T. Berry Brazelton and Dr. Stanley Greenspan, as an outgrowth of their six-year clinical research project funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. In July 2006, the Center affiliated with Adventist HealthCare, Inc. Serving more than 4,000 children and families in the Washington metropolitan area, regardless of ability to pay, the Center is a pioneer and leader in the field of infant and child mental health.
