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Renee Filip, chief executive officer of Aspire WNY
Aspire of WNY has hired a longtime health care executive as its new CEO.
Renee Filip joins the agency as president and CEO on Aug. 1, bringing executive leadership experience in nonprofits, education and health care.
She takes over for Thomas Sy, who is retiring after 20 years at the top.
At Aspire, Filip will oversee a $73 million budget for the human service organization that serves more than 3,600 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities with services that include education, housing, health care services and community-based programs throughout Erie, Chautauqua and Niagara counties.
Filip comes to the agency from the University at Buffalo, where she served as director for strategic planning and communications. Before that, she spent seven years as the chief operating officer at UBMD Physicians’ Group, where she oversaw a $230 million combined budget and gained experience creating and implementing strategic plans and developing managed care models.
Filip also previously held roles at the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Ciminelli Real Estate Co. and Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel LLP. All are important for Aspire, as it continues to shift into new managed care reimbursement models along with other human services organizations.
“She brings extensive senior-level business experience in government, for profit and not for profit organizations,” said John Earshen, board chairman.
And though Aspire is the first disabilities agency from which Filip will draw a paycheck, she has served on the board of directors at Borhava, the Specialized Early Childhood Center of WNY Inc., where she facilitated the organization’s first strategic plan; and volunteered and performed strategic planning work for Danceability Inc., a local dance studio serving the special needs community. She is also past board chair at the Children’s Guild Foundation.
