With a nod to our founding father, Maybelle Center went back to the University of Portland (UP) and its Congregation of Holy Cross to tap our new board president. Rev John Donato, C.S.C., the University’s Special Assistant to the President for Mission, assumed the duties as President of the Maybelle Center Board of Directors on January 1st, 2026.
Maybelle Center’s roots trace to Rev. Richard Berg, C.S.C., former Dean of UP’s College of Arts and Sciences. In 1991, Fr. Berg and his sister, Mary Sue Richen, started a community room in the (St. Andre Bessette) Downtown Chapel—involving parishioners and UP nursing students to visit frail, socially isolated residents. By the end of that decade, they opened Macdonald Residence, the nation’s first assisted living facility to exclusively serve Medicaid-eligible adults.
Now, Maybelle Center is a comprehensive community health organization in the heart of downtown Portland. We promote social health and a sense of belonging with adults pushed to the margins by economic poverty and mental health stigma. Through our relationship-centered 54-unit assisted living community, 42 affordable apartments, and neighborhood outreach based in our Old Town facility, we reduce isolation and support health and well-being every day.
Fr. Donato, who this past year led mission work around the University’s six core values—Dignity, Community, Inquiry, Ethics, Engagement, and Hope—has served on the Maybelle Center board since 2023.
“I am both humbled and honored to begin serving as Maybelle Center board president,” said Fr. Donato. “For over 30 years, the University of Portland has been a steady partner with the Center. I stand on the shoulders of giants like Fr. Dick Berg and his sister, Mary Sue, the brave visionaries who built this compassionate community in downtown Portland.”
Maybelle Center Executive Director Michelle Meyer knows Fr. John’s work well, and shared her confidence: “[Fr. John’s] experience stewarding mission-driven work at UP will help guide Maybelle Center as we carefully balance honoring a strong founding mission while strategically adapting to the evolving needs of our neighbors in downtown Portland.”
In 2025, Maybelle Center’s neighborhood outreach connected 292 Portland residents through nearly 1,000 hours of group programming—from art classes and bingo to outdoor excursions.
“My goal is simply to provide all the support I can to the Maybelle Center board and its wonderful team,” Fr. Donato said. “Theirs is a joyful, inspirational community that promotes belonging and celebrates dignity in countless ways.”
