CCS of Northern Utah director moves on

Friday, Apr. 24, 2020

OGDEN — Maresha Bosgieter, the director of Catholic Community Services of Northern Utah for the past four years, has left the organization; her last day was April 9. 

“I have absolutely loved my time at CCS,” she said. “The staff there, the programs, the board in Salt Lake, everybody is so amazing and supportive. I’m very proud of the things we accomplished while I was there helping out.”

Bosgieter, who was born and raised in Ogden and attended Weber State University, came to CCS seven years ago after 15 years as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch. She became director of the northern Utah office four years ago in what she described as “a natural transition,” after volunteering and serving on the organization’s advisory board. She began formally working in CCS in community outreach before taking the position that had been vacated by Marci Valdez. 

She is proud of the work CCS of Northern Utah has done, she said. “There are so many amazing things that have happened over the years.” 

One of the programs she feels has most benefitted the underserved population in the Ogden area is Bridging the Gap, begun in 2014, which provides boxes of weekend food to 4,200 schoolchildren and pantry packs to an additional 1,800 students. Last year, they began helping the high schools and junior high schools in the area ensure they had well-stocked food pantries.

A major improvement over that time has been the addition of a 12,000-square-foot warehouse area for the Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank, which increased the food bank’s storage capacity and helped grow the programs. The organization is also working on plans to tear down its old building and replace it.

Another of Bosgieter’s accomplishments has been moving CCSNU onto a solid financial foundation, she said. 

“When I started, we were running a large deficit each year, but due in part to my work on awareness and fundraising in the community, it allowed us to turn that around and we able to put reserves away to help us weather difficult times like we are currently facing,” she said.

Bosgieter praised the work and support of the CCSNU staff and the board of trustees, in particular former board president Tony Sansone.

“Catholic Community Services is such an amazing place,” she said. “Helping those that are truly the most vulnerable and the most in need, just watching the passion and the commitment of all of the directors and employees over the years and the friendships that I’ve made and will continue to take with me onto my next adventures, are just so outstanding.

“The board over the last couple of years have just been so involved and so supportive,” she said. “That hasn’t always been the case with northern Utah, just because we were a little farther away.”

The CCSNU staff is unmatched in their hard work and dedication, Bosgieter said.  “They are all there because of a passion and a love for what they do, serving our clients and making sure that we can meet their basic needs, just watching them grow over the years, really take ownership of their programs and their roles.” 

“Sometimes it’s time for a change,” she said of her decision to move on. She is reviewing several other opportunities, but feels certain she will stay in the nonprofit field, she said. “Over the years I’ve had the pleasure to really increase CCS of Northern Utah’s visibility and reputation in the community, and I’ve been involved in so many things; I definitely love that part of it. I will definitely stay involved in trying to make sure that we improve our community and our world and do what we can to help those who need it.”

Catholic Community Services Executive Director Brad Drake praised Bosgieter’s contributions to the organization.

“We are grateful for Maresha’s many years of dedicated service to the poor and most vulnerable among us and wish her the very best going forward in her personal and professional career,” he said.