Catholic Charities Fort Worth President and CEO Michael Iglio is no longer with the nonprofit, officials said Wednesday.
Beth Kwasny was named interim CEO and started in the role on Monday, according to the nonprofit’s Aug. 20 statement to the Fort Worth Report. She previously chaired the Catholic Charities Fort Worth board of directors.
Officials from the nonprofit did not immediately respond to the Report’s questions as to why Iglio is no longer with the charity, whether he resigned or was let go, and other queries related to the leadership change.
Kwasny, a retired Air Force officer, has worked in the defense sector for more than 30 years in both military and contractor roles, according to the nonprofit’s website. She has volunteered with Catholic Charities Fort Worth for two decades.
Iglio had overseen Catholic Charities Fort Worth since June 2023. Before that, he was the organization’s chief operating officer beginning in April 2020.
The leadership announcement comes a month after the nonprofit reversed a decision to end their federally funded role in leading Texas’ refugee resettlement.
The Fort Worth nonprofit has operated the Texas Office for Refugees since 2021, the agency designated by the federal government to lead refugee resettlement in the state. Texas withdrew from the nation’s resettlement program in 2016, effectively leaving nonprofits to administer the federal refugee funds.
The organization initially planned to end its role in statewide resettlement in October. Iglio announced in July that the nonprofit would continue the work through the end of its federal contract — Sept. 30, 2026.
Catholic Charities Fort Worth has 24 charity partners, a spokesperson for the nonprofit told the Fort Worth Report. More than 5,000 refugees made Texas their home in 2023, leading the nation in refugee resettlement, according to a November 2024 report by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Catholic Charities Fort Worth was one of several aid groups that sued the federal government at the beginning of the year after President Donald Trump’s administration announced and then reversed a federal funding pause in January.
The organization filed a March 3 suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., accusing the government of unlawfully freezing grants allocated to the refugee resettlement program. Catholic Charities Fort Worth officials said other organizations received their allocated funds when the freeze order was reversed, while its payment requests went unanswered.
In a court filing, federal officials said they flagged Catholic Charities for a “program integrity review.” Its funds were paused to explore whether the organization “billed for activities that were outside the scope” of its grants and if the grants paid for activities that exceeded the requirements of the Refugee Act of 1980, according to the filing.
After two weeks of legal back and forth, Catholic Charities Fort Worth received $47 million on March 17, according to court documents.
The deposited funds came days after the charity warned 169 employees may be laid off, according to a notification the charity submitted to the Texas Workforce Commission. Other affiliates of Catholic Charities in Dallas, Houston and Galveston also announced a series of layoffs following the January pause on refugee resettlement funding.
Iglio said in a July 17 statement that Catholic Charities Fort Worth will use the remaining time in its contract “for a more stable and responsible transition that ensures the well-being of clients across Texas.”
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.
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