On August 4, Mohsen Badran, president & CEO of Goodwill of the Coastal Empire, announced he was resigning his position and returning to New York City to be with his family. Badran, a relative newcomer to Savannah, was hired by the Goodwill board of directors in late 2010 and started work on February 15, 2011, after serving 18 years with Goodwill Industries of New York and Northern New Jersey, Inc., where he was senior vice president.

The reason for Badran’s departure is strictly a family one. “Family comes first,” he said. The original plan was to move his family to Savannah soon after he started work at Goodwill. “That was the plan originally,” said Badran. “We’ve been New Yorkers since day one but we never felt moving out of New York was ever going to be a problem.” As it turns out however, the family decided that moving away from their home in Little Neck, Queens, was a lot more than they bargained for. Native New Yorkers are used to a pace and lifestyle found nowhere else on earth, and many who leave it find it hard to stay away very long. The Badrans decided it was not the right move for the family. Badran has commuted back and forth between Savannah and New York his entire time here. Understandably, the commute has proven to be too much of a strain on all concerned, as has supporting three residences; one here, one in Queens, and a third one in Washington, DC, where his daughter attends George Washington University.

When Badran, 53, came to Savannah, he brought with him a clear vision for leadership. He said his ultimate goal was that partners and stakeholders would view Goodwill as the leading agency of its kind. “When I arrived here, we were kind of a passive, slow-moving, not-too-ambitious organization, and I think we’ve changed that,” said Badran. “We made it very clear to people internally and externally that Goodwill is really serious about our role in the community.”

In the short time that followed, just short of four years in his new position, Badran’s accomplishments have been nothing short of remarkable. A key part of his vision was to expand the mission of Goodwill beyond its traditional bounds by engaging the community as a key partner to inform the organization’s strategic direction under Goodwill’s new leadership. “We need to be what the community needs us to be, not the other way around,” he said. “You can’t just tell the community that this is what we do and take it or leave it.” Badran sees the reverse of that idea as the proper direction. “It should be that the community supports us because the community sees us as capable of helping veterans, at-risk youth, the disabled, new immigrants, ex-offenders and so many others,” he said. “If these are the chronic issues we have in the community, we should be the first organization to say we will help.”

But where to start. “Twenty-eight percent of Savannahians live at or below the poverty line. That’s a huge problem,” said Badran. “The solution always starts with employment.” Goodwill has always been about employment, but its mission has expanded from helping people with certain disabilities secure gainful employment to helping anyone with any barrier to employment, find work.

One common and serious barrier to employment for thousands is that they do not possess the skills and training needed for the jobs that exist. “Many companies open plants in Georgia but are then unable to find the skills they need in the existing labor force,” Badran explained. Goodwill works with employers advocating for deserving candidates – people who don’t yet have but are quite capable of obtaining the needed skills. Goodwill works with many partners, including Savannah Technical College, to provide the training for the skills needed in this job market.

But what of Goodwill’s accomplishments under Badran’s brief tenure? When Badran came on board, Goodwill was doing what it could to reach out to the community to place people in jobs. The organization now has 10 Job Connection Centers throughout its 33-county catchment area. The 10 retail stores that existed when he arrived have now grown to 19 in just 20 months, and all stores are much more attractive places to shop than they were just four years ago, attracting more customers and bigger spenders. Goodwill retail thrift stores account for about 60 percent of the agency’s funding. Expansion there means expansion everywhere else. Tony Brown is a management employee at Goodwill with an 11-year history. Once director of retail operations, Brown has now taken the position of director of production. “He came here with a vision, he has done a great job with his vision, he has taught the organization how to think outside the box,” said Brown. “We serve a great deal more people now because of his vision.”

Goodwill has been a longtime provider of janitorial services, with contracts for cleaning at Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Air Field, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Facility in Brunswick, as well as all the government buildings in Savannah’s downtown area, and it continues to grow. The organization does extremely well in E-commerce, which has grown significantly in the past four years. Goodwill also has a wholly-owned subsidiary called G-Force Technologies that was established 18 years ago to help service specific labor needs at Gulfstream Aerospace. The company’s work in aerospace fabrication, design and solutions has grown more than four-fold under Badran’s leadership, from annual gross revenues of about $750,000 in 2010 to over $3.5 million in 2014, and it continues to grow.

When Badran came, he recommended to his board that the organization consider new lines of business while bolstering and growing the existing ones. He launched what is now a thriving ground maintenance business which creates jobs for the community and significant funding for the organization. Badran also introduced G-Star, a staffing agency that does job readiness training and placement. Twenty-five months ago, G-Star did not exist. Now, the company places between 140 and 150 people in gainful employment every day, and grosses some $2.7 million annually for Goodwill, according to Badran.

Goodwill of the Coastal Empire currently employs about 850 people and the number keeps rising. “What I am personally proud of with my staff here is that we showed our board and the community the possibilities – how strong of an impact we can make in our community.” John Wills is president of Consumer Credit Counseling Services in Savannah, a key partner organization for Goodwill for many years. “I came to really enjoy working with Mohsen in a variety of different capacities,” said Wills. “He has been a true asset to the community and to the Goodwill organization. It will be tough to fill his shoes and he will be sorely missed.”

Suzanne Donovan is the new executive director of Step Up Savannah, another longtime partner of Goodwill. Though Donovan is new to the top spot at Step Up, she is not new to the organization, having served there as director of communications for years. “I think it is a real loss for Savannah, Chatham County and the region,” said Donovan. “He has led an extraordinarily ambitious campaign to expand Goodwill’s work and its mission. It was very remarkable to watch. Goodwill and Step Up have been partnering for a long time but he came in and changed how a lot of us see Goodwill.”

Brenda Pollen, a 28-year veteran of Goodwill’s management team, said Badran’s leadership has inspired her afresh. “The one thing Mohsen came to us with four years ago is a passion for people,” said Pollen. “That’s my real motivator. I came to Goodwill over 28 years ago and the one thing I was sure of when I first walked through the door was that I wanted to serve people. When Mohsen came on four years ago he came with that same mission,” she said. “We’ve done a lot in the last for years, so it just lets me know there’s a lot more for us to do. I am now, more than ever, driven to do more.”

Badran gives credit where credit is due – to his staff and particularly, to his management team. “What you need in order to have a successful management team here are people who can manage in the aerospace industry, janitorial services, E-commerce, retail, donations and mission services, all at the same time. It’s hard but it’s possible and I think we have a great management team that will take us to the next level.” Badran also sings the praises of a very dedicated, engaged and supportive board of directors.

A search committee is being formed, according to Badrah. He said there are no plans to appoint an interim CEO right now. It might happen later. Instead, the board plans to assign each line of business to the supervision of the board member with the most knowledge in that particular type of business. Three board members will comprise a committee that oversees day-to-day operations. The search committee has its work cut out for it. No one has yet put forth an official statement of what particular skills and characteristics they’ll be seeking in their nationwide hunt for Badran’s successor, but it would be hard to imagine that anyone much different could fill his shoes.

When asked about how he feels about his accomplishments over the past four years, Badran offers a modest, poignant and down-to-earth reply: “It’s hard to say you have accomplished anything when you still have 28 percent of the population living under poverty and you still have a high unemployment rate,” he said. “We have had some areas of positive impact.”

Badran now has 28 years in service to Goodwill. He had some impressive credentials when he came to Savannah newly four years ago. Now, he leaves The Coastal Empire with a whole new list of accomplishments on his résumé that are certain to impress the most demanding future employer. “I’m a Goodwill person,” he said. “I hope to continue my employment soon, somewhere closer to New York City – maybe within two or three hours’ drive.” I have a number of management opportunities in the private sector but certainly my preference will always be to stay with Goodwill.”

His parting hope is that the rapidly accelerated growth of Goodwill of the Coastal Empire will continue well on into the future. “I hope that this mentality of expansion will remain when I leave,” he said. “We should never stop, go backward or shrink but continue that expansion and growth – open more stores and more Job Connections, and help more people. These are the things I hope people will take to heart when they remember my time in Savannah.”