LEADERSHIP
We are committed to ensuring that Metropolitan Ministries is led by caring and compassionate people who are called to our mission. Each member of our leadership team brings the experience, skills and heart for our mission to guide the organization in fulfilling its purpose to provide faithful answers for poor and homeless families.
Through our leaders and organization culture there is a sense of community among our staff that encourages teamwork and the open exchange of ideas.
Chief Executive Officer
Morris E. Hintzman, D.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Morris Hintzman joined Metropolitan Ministries in 1982 as Executive Director and was one of the Ministries' first full-time employees. In 1997, he was promoted to President and in 2010 was named Chief Executive Officer.
Hintzman provides leadership for the Ministries and communicates the organization's mission and vision to involve the community in providing answers for poor and homeless families. Hintzman focuses on developing the Ministries' board of directors and plays a key role in pastoral care, fundraising, advancement and development to bring together the community to gain the commitments and resources needed to fulfill the Ministries' mission and vision.
During his more than 30 years of leadership, the Ministries has grown from serving several hundred families a year to several thousand. The staff has grown from one employee and 75 volunteers to more than 100 employees and thousands of volunteers giving nearly 100,000 hours of service a year. The Ministries' campus has grown from a small 1,200 square-foot dilapidated house to a campus that includes several buildings and spans three city blocks. On a daily basis, hundreds of families in crisis are served, 60 homeless families are housed, adults are educated, preschool children receive early childhood education, K – 5th grade students are educated in our partnership school, adults receive job training and affordable housing options are contemplated for homeless and at-risk families.
Hintzman is a member of the Hillsborough County Homeless Coalition, the Hillsborough County Human Rights Council, Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Association of Fundraising Professionals, The Board of Trustees of Asbury College, and numerous committees within the United Methodist Church. Over his career, Hintzman has served on more than 25 councils, boards and committees within the social service field, including former Florida Governor Bob Graham's Task Force on Homelessness, and three terms as president of the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County. His dedicated service to providing answers for poor and homeless families has earned him recognition by a dozen different organizations.
Hintzman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Asbury College and a Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. In addition, he was bestowed an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in May of 1998 for his work with poor and homeless families.
Hintzman and his wife Paula reside in the Tampa area. They have two adult children.
President/COO
Tim Marks
President and Chief Operating Officer
Over the past four years, Tim Marks, President and Chief Operating Officer of Metropolitan Ministries, has placed the Ministries on a path of tremendous growth and development. By leading with his heart, innovative thought and structure, Tim has expanded the Ministries’ Outreach and Prevention Services programs and strengthened the Ministries’ role within the Tampa Bay community.
In building strong bridges among the corporate and faith communities, and successfully launching new ways to garnish support, Metropolitan Ministries has raised over $5 million in in-kind donations, enabling more at-risk and homeless men, women and children to receive the services they needed to rebuild their lives.
Tim’s visionary leadership and can-do attitude has led to the allocation of greater resources and funding, focusing 84 percent of the Ministries budget on life-changing programming. Tim is also the architect behind the Community Outreach Program, Compassion in Action, which has enabled the Metropolitan Ministries to serve more families in more communities through collaborative partnerships. Under Tim’s leadership, the Ministries’ holiday efforts have doubled serving 15,000 families in 2006 to 29,000 families in the 2009 holiday season.
Born in Detroit, MI, Tim brings a diverse background of skills to Metropolitan Ministries. He has a Bachelors of Science in electrical engineering from Oakland University in Rochester, MI. Tim worked in the corporate world for more than 21 years as an engineer, account executive and sales director. As a sales director of a Fortune 50 company, Tim led a nationwide organization responsible for an annual revenue stream of over $90M Prior to joining the Ministries, Tim served as the Executive Director of Community Relations for the Boston Rescue Mission.
Tim's passion to give back to the community is matched by his passion for his family and his personal faith. Tim resides in North Tampa with his wife of 27 years, Valeri, and their three children.
Phil Signore
Chief Financial Officer
Phil Signore is a Certified Public Accountant and has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Accounting from Florida State University. He began his career in 1979 in the audit practice of a multinational public accounting firm, and advanced his career until he had served as the CFO of public and private companies for fourteen years.
Phil also serves as the Chairman of the Finance Council at Light of Christ Catholic Church where he has worked extensively with their Early Childhood Center, helping them develop a successful business model, and he regularly leads adult retreats. He is also a founding Board Member of the House of Mercy and Encouragement, a faith based provider of mental health and learning services for children and their families. At the Ministries, he serves as the chief steward, responsibly planning for their needs and accounting for their financial and non-financial resources.
Christine Long
Senior Programs Officer
Christine Long joined Metropolitan Ministries in 1993 as a transition counselor and was promoted in 1995 to manager of the Family Care Center (now the family residence). In December of 1998, she was promoted to Director of Programs. Long was promoted again in 2001 to Senior Director of Program and Quality, followed by another promotion in 2003 as Senior Director of Programs.
As Senior Director of Programs, Long oversees all aspects of the program and services offered by the Ministries, including Uplift U®, a comprehensive residential program, Outreach and Prevention Services, Academy and PromiseLand Childcare Services and Permanent Supportive Housing programs. Her role is to ensure the program's compassion, innovation and continuous improvement by responding effectively and proactively to the needs in the community.