August's Featured Manager: Mark Hushen

Hushen says, "Maintain singleness of purpose"

Name and title: Father Mark Hushen, OSFS, president and CEO of Father Martin’s Ashley, an internationally known alcohol and chemical addiction treatment center near Havre de Grace.

Personal background: The Ashley CEO grew up in a large Irish family in Havertown, PA. He has a Master of Arts in counseling from the Catholic University of America, a Master of Divinity from DeSales School of Theology and a Bachelor of Science degree in general agriculture from Penn State University.

Professional background: First serving as executive vice president when he came to Father Martin’s Ashley in January 2007, Hushen became president/CEO in August of that year.

“I was the director of clinical pastoral care for three years and a chaplain for two years, at the Caron Treatment Centers in Wernersville, PA,” said Hushen. From 1994 to 2001, he was a pastor at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, DE. From 1991 to 1994, Hushen was a campus minister and teacher at Northeast Catholic High School for Boys in Philadelphia.

Keys to success: “I possess the unique ability to serve as pastor and CEO at Father Martin’s Ashley, blending clinical practices and spiritually with business principles,” Hushen said.

Goals: Noting that Ashley’s mission statement says “Our sole purpose is to heal,” Hushen said, “Professionally, I want to develop a leadership style that promotes excellence and achieves our mission of helping heal those suffering from chemical addiction.”

Advice: “Honest, clear, direct communication promotes health within an organization,” said Hushen, further observing, “Maintaining singleness of purpose and being mission driven is important to achieving goals.”

What could be done to make business more successful: “Societal changes to educate the public that addiction is a public health issue not a moral issue,” Hushen said. He also observed that more resources would be available if insurance companies would change the ways they provide benefits for addiction treatment and other mental health services.