CAMDEN – As Dr. Maria Elena Hallion settles into her office on Haddon Avenue, she admits to being enthused and optimistic about “what we can all do here together.”
Since her first day March 18 as executive director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Camden, Dr. Hallion has been “learning about the services we provide, the grants we are stewards of,” and meeting with the agency’s directors who oversee services including immigration, refugee and migrants; veterans; rapid rehousing; family and community; prison ministry; addiction; behavioral health and more.
“We all sat down and talked casually,” she said of these one-on-one meetings. “I’m very encouraged by their dedication to the people they serve. A priority for me is to support them in their good work. What can I do so they can best serve the vulnerable population of South Jersey in financial, physical, mental and nutritional health?”
Serving more than 28,000 people in the Diocese’s six counties, Catholic Charities assists those in need through its programs and partnerships with local parishes, Church and secular organizations, and those on the local, state and federal levels.
Assisting others is a common theme throughout Dr. Hallion’s professional career. The Gibbstown resident and parishioner of Saint Clare of Assisi, Swedesboro, served as the executive director of Branches Outreach in Rio Grande, which helps marginalized families and individuals in Cape May County receive access to food, clothing and social service resources. In this role, her tasks included overseeing the programming and services critical to the company’s mission, and fostering relationships with local organizations.
She also worked as the Interim Food Resources director for the nonprofit Manna on Main Street in Lansdale, Pa., helping in its mission to end hunger by overseeing its “Grocers Against Hunger” program; organizing food drives; collaborating with local food banks, and supervising its College Student Basic Needs Program.
In higher education, Dr. Hallion spent 23 years at Cabrini University in Radnor, Pa., serving in various classroom and administrative capacities. She was the department chair of Health and Exercise Sciences, where she developed a course on the social determinants of childhood obesity, “Let’s Feed Kids Well,” and a regional conference series on “The Convergence of Childhood Obesity and Hunger.” She was assistant dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Allied Health, as well as a professor in exercise science and health promotion.
These experiences in mentoring, leadership and community engagement, she believes, were all markers on a path that led her to the Diocese of Camden. Not to mention her faith.
A lifelong Catholic, Dr. Hallion has served as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and was a children faith formation teacher at Gibbstown’s Saint Michael Parish (now Saint Clare of Assisi).
“Having a dedicated prayer life, caring for others and seeing Christ in them, [and now] working here for Catholic Charities, it’s so in sync with what I care about,” she said.
Working in Rio Grande, Dr. Hallion said she was well-aware of Catholic Charities’ outreach in Cape May County, as well as the ministries at local Catholic parishes. She calls the passion these faithful have to help the vulnerable “very encouraging.”
Since March, Dr. Hallion has been introducing herself to the Diocese’s Knights of Columbus councils, parish St. Vincent de Paul councils, and the Diocese’s food pantries, emphasizing another goal of communication and collaboration. “I’m excited to meet people and get acclimated to everything the Diocese has been doing.”
She said she is also looking forward to enhancing “the visibility of Catholic Charities, to make sure that people know what we do, so they’ll think of us when they’re in need or when they’re wanting to support a good, giving, caring organization.”
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