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FROM STAFF REPORTS

Doug Marshall of Alabaster and President/CEO of the Presbyterian Home for Children in Talladega, Alabama was elected to the national board of directors for the United Methodist Association Health and Welfare Ministries (UMA) at its annual meeting in April.

With this appointment, the Presbyterian Home for Children becomes the only Presbyterian Church-affiliated organization in the U.S. to have direct representation on the UMA Board.

Marshall will serve a three-year term on the UMA Board of Directors, where he also serves on the organization’s EAGLE Accreditation Commission.

A graduate of the University of West Florida, Marshall studied accounting and finance. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting in 1985 and returned to his alma mater in 2012 to be honored as one of the university’s Distinguished Alumni. Known as a business leader within the city of Birmingham, Marshall held a variety of senior leadership positions throughout his 30-year career in the nonprofit and corporate sectors, including Energen, Spire (formerly Alagasco), United Ability and more recently, as chief financial officer at Alabama Family Trust. He is a certified public accountant, beginning his career in the Birmingham office of Ernst & Young.

Marshall was named a Top 50 Over 50 honoree by Positive Maturity in 2017, and he was recognized as one of “20 Making a Difference” in Talladega and St. Clair counties in 2018. He has held a number of membership and leadership roles throughout the state and has volunteered with numerous nonprofit organizations.

He assumed the role of president and CEO of Presbyterian Home for Children in late 2017, saying that he believed “his entire life and career had prepared him for this moment,” one where he would play a pivotal role in providing life-changing hope for homeless and at-risk children, youth, young adults and families across the state.

As a new member of the UMA Board of Directors and as an existing member of the EAGLE Accreditation Commission since 2019, Marshall will further the Home’s ministry to raise the bar of care for children and older adults, not just locally, but at a national level.

“It has been an honor to serve on the EAGLE Accreditation Commission these past three years,” Marshall said. “I am so thankful to deepen our commitment to UMA and human service ministries we serve by joining the Board of Directors.”

The mission of UMA is to promote, inspire, recognize and empower excellence in human service ministries. UMA seeks to “improve quality of life for those served by UMA members, expand its footprint of service to those in need and set standards of service through its EAGLE accreditation program.”

EAGLE, which is short for Educational Assessment Guidelines Leading toward Excellence Accreditation, challenges organizations to promote excellence in Christian health care and human service ministries through 10 founding principles that speak to the importance of such things as Christian mission and church relationship, holistic care, community involvement and workforce excellence.

EAGLE is the only faith-based accrediting body in the country for ministry with children and older adults, and its accredited organizations are comprised of Older Adult Ministries (OAM) and Children, Youth and Family agencies (CYF) that have relationships with any denominational sponsor or connected unit. EAGLE examines organizations seeking accreditation every four years, ensuring that they are operating in a manner representative of their faith foundation.

Under Marshall’s leadership, the Presbyterian Home for Children received re-accreditation through EAGLE in 2021.