NASHVILLE, TN — The YMCA of Middle Tennessee is pleased to announce that John Mikos has been named President and CEO of the mid-state association of YMCAs, which includes 14 family wellness centers, a 300-acre day- and resident-camp facility, the region’s largest network of before- and after-school care sites and a number of community-based outreach programs for youth and adults.
Mikos is a YMCA veteran of 25-plus years currently serving as the President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Kansas City (serving Kansas and Missouri), where he previously served as Chief Operating Officer before being named CEO in 2019. Prior to his time in Kansas City, Mikos spent 11 years as the Chief Operating Officer for the YMCA of Western North Carolina.
With assistance from the YMCA of the USA CEO Search team, Mikos was selected by a local CEO Selection Committee convened to identify the organization’s next leader. The search committee was led by current YMCA of Middle Tennessee board chair Lawson C. Allen, and comprised of nine additional board members: David Bohan, Leilani Boulware, Trudy Carpenter, Marty Dickens, Jimmy Granbery, Decosta Jenkins, Tony Wall, David Wilds and Liz Wilson.
Allen says, “John has an incredible reputation nationally in the Y movement as a strategic and cause-driven leader, and we look forward to welcoming him to Middle Tennessee to continue the impactful work of our nonprofit organization.”
Mikos, a first-generation Greek American, says his family heritage and their experience as immigrants make the Y’s efforts to provide welcoming environments for people of all backgrounds especially resonant. “A lot has changed about the Y since its founding in London in 1844, but at its core has always been a commitment to meeting critical community needs. In the 1920s, for some YMCAs, that meant teaching English as a Second Language classes to newcomers. Today, it means helping people foster healthy lifestyles, ensuring our kids have the resources they need to succeed in the classroom and in life—and in this particular moment in our history, even supporting displaced Ukrainian refugees. That commitment to seeing and meeting a need is what attracted me to the Y, and it’s why I’m still here. I have long admired the YMCA of Middle Tennessee, and I cannot wait to be a part of the inspiring work in and around Nashville.”
Mikos has a B.S. in Business Finance and Organizational Communications from the University of Oklahoma. He and his wife Janet, a senior insurance claims consultant, are the proud parents of adult children Christian, 21, and Irina, 19.
Mikos is set to begin work in Nashville in January.
