United Way selects new leader

United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley announced today that Michael K. Durkin will be its new president and chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1.

Durkin, who is chief executive of the Mile High United Way chapter in Denver, has several local connections, said the Massachusetts organization, a nonprofit charitable organization.

Durkin is a Boston College graduate, and his wife is from Melrose, the organization said.

Once during a Colorado cold snap, Durkin arranged to have the United Way building in Denver do temporary duty as a homeless shelter, the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley noted in the first paragraph of its press release.

"Michael Durkin's leadership in Denver shows a deep understanding of the issues we are tackling in our region," Cathy E. Minehan, the search-committee chair of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)