Harbor Homes of Martha’s Vineyard, the Island’s homelessness prevention nonprofit, announced this week that Brian Morris has resigned as executive director, effective April 30.

“It was very amicable,” Harbor Homes board president Jennifer Frank said of Mr. Morris’s departure. “We’re very grateful to Brian for his contributions to Harbor Homes,” she said.

Michael Bellissimo of West Tisbury has agreed to lead the organization on an interim basis starting May 12.

Ms. Frank said she and her board are both excited and confident that Mr. Bellissimo will help move Harbor Homes forward as the nonprofit seeks its next executive director.

“He has a lot of skills and experience in managing large organizations [and] he knows the Island well — he has been on the board of the [Dukes County] housing authority, and he was involved in the housing bank effort,” she said.

Mr Bellissimo, who holds a PhDin management, a master’s in science education and an MBA, recently completed a teaching term at the United States Coast Guard Academy and has agreed to work full-time for Harbor Homes until September, Ms. Frank told the Gazette.

“We were very lucky,” she said. “He has a real commitment to housing and social justice issues, and he really wants to give back to the Vineyard community.”

Mr. Bellissimo will become Harbor Homes’ fifth executive director in as many years. Founding director Karen Tewhey served from 2020 to 2022, followed in quick succession by Sue Diverio and Kristin Leutz before Mr. Morris took the position last August.

Ms. Frank said that Mr. Bellissimo’s previous management experience, at companies including the Cleveland Clinic, Apple and Microsoft, will make him a key asset in the search for a new executive director.

“He has a network that will create a bigger [candidate] pool for us... and he’ll bring his experience into the search,” she said.

If the position has not been filled by the time Mr. Bellissimo needs to resume teaching this fall, Ms. Frank said, he has offered to stay with Harbor Homes part-time for as long as needed.

“Mike’s position as interim executive director has given us the flexibility to... find and hire the best candidate possible,” she said.

Harbor Homes faces another challenge as well, after losing the space it has leased for the winter overnight shelter over the past three seasons. The nonprofit has been looking for years to buy a property where it can establish the winter shelter, staff offices and year-round homeless services such as medical care, counseling and job coaching.

Mr. Morris told the Gazette that he valued his time with Harbor Homes and fully supports the mission.

“I was honored to have worked for such a great agency. The staff is wonderful, the board is hard-working and I can’t say enough good things about them,” he said.

Mr. Morris, who holds a PhD in social work, said he likely will return to his previous career as a recovery coach on the Vineyard.

“One on one with somebody in the trenches — I think that’s what I am best at, because I’m in the trenches too. I’m in recovery, but I’m an alcoholic,” he said.

“I’m going to lean on those skills that I have and put my heart to good use on this Island that saved my life,” Mr. Morris said.