United Spinal Appoints New Executive Director
Jackson Heights, NY––United Spinal Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul J. Tobin of Staten Island, New York, to the position of Executive Director. Tobin, a United States Navy veteran, will oversee all strategic operations and ensure the execution of United Spinal’s vision. The organization is a national member organization dedicated to people with spinal cord injuries or disorders (SCI/D).
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Tobin served as Deputy Executive Director from July 2003 and was on the Board of Directors from 1995 to 1996. Tobin has also held a variety of managerial positions with United Spinal, including Hospital Services Officer, Director of Special Projects, and Group Director of Benefit Services. He was promoted to Associate Executive Director of Benefit Services in 1998. Tobin was unanimously appointed to the position of executive director by the Board of Directors upon the retirement of Gerard Kelly this month.
“Paul has exhibited great energy, commitment and leadership talent since joining the staff in 1996 and during the past three years as deputy executive director,” said Clair Russell Hesselton, president of United Spinal Association. “We are confident that he will work tirelessly with the board of directors to ensure that United Spinal Association strives to be the best SCI/D organization in the nation.”
Among Tobin’s goals is to continue the tradition of service that is the legacy of United Spinal and “to help each of us learn from one another, improve our collective quality of life, and ensure that we can each achieve the goals and expectations we set for ourselves,” he said. “I intend to continually challenge the limitations imposed by attitudes, medical technology, society and government.”
Tobin, a Long Island native, graduated from Manhattan College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1991. Upon graduation, Tobin attended United States Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, from which he was commissioned an ensign in November of 1991. His duty stations included the Naval Training Center in Orlando, Florida, where he was Assistant Public Works Officer, and the Naval Air Warfare Center in Lakehurst, New Jersey, where he served as Assistant Resident Officer In Charge of Construction.
After sustaining a spinal cord injury in August of 1993, Tobin underwent rehabilitation at the Castle Point (NY) Veterans Affairs Medical Center for rehabilitation training.
Tobin, his wife Lorraine, and their 12 year-old son, Connor, live in the Great Kills neighborhood of Staten Island.
United Spinal Association was founded in 1946 by World War II veterans that had sustained spinal cord injuries. The mission of United Spinal Association is to provide expertise, create access to resources and strengthen hope, thereby enabling people with SCI/D to fulfill their potential as active members of their communities. The Association has provided over $52 million for spinal cord research and the education of health care professionals. United Spinal’s financial support helped to launch two of the most respected spinal cord research facilities in the country at Yale University and the James J. Peters Dept. of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the Bronx, NY. Membership in United Spinal Association is free and open to all people with SCI/D.