Susie Weller named next leader of Union-Snyder Agency on Aging

Union-Snyder Agency on Aging is handing leadership of one of the region’s most essential senior-service providers to Susie Weller on July 6, at a time when older adults in Union and Snyder counties are already feeling the strain of reduced meals, personal care and senior-center hours.

The agency said Weller will become its next executive director and oversee a system that develops and provides services for people 60 and older across both counties. Its work reaches far beyond paperwork: it includes protective services for older adults at risk of abuse, neglect, abandonment or exploitation, ombudsman help for nursing-home and personal-care-facility residents, PA MEDI Medicare counseling, home-delivered meals, personal care, respite care, caregiver support and long-term care assistance.

That makes the transition significant for local seniors and caregivers who depend on the agency to help them stay in their homes and communities. The organization says it has served Union and Snyder counties for more than 45 years, was established in 1974 as a two-county public agency and became a private nonprofit in 2004. It now has 36 full- and part-time employees, a 15-member board of directors and serves more than 3,000 consumers each year.

Board Chair Leslie Osgood said Weller brings leadership experience and a commitment to older adults. Outgoing Executive Director Holly Kyle noted that the agency has had only two leaders in more than 50 years, underscoring how rare this kind of handoff has been for an organization that plays a central role in local aging services.

The change comes during a funding crunch that has already forced cuts. The agency says Pennsylvania agencies on aging have not received an increase in regular block grant allocations since 2008, and a 2024-2025 state budget decision left Union-Snyder with a $362,000 deficit, a 10% reduction in its annual budget. The agency said that shortfall has already reduced home-delivered meals and personal care, ended personal emergency response services and cut senior-center hours.

The pressure is likely to grow as the population ages. The agency says one in four Pennsylvanians is now 60 or older, and that figure is projected to rise to one in three by 2030. It also says the 65-and-older population continues to increase while younger age groups decline, especially in rural counties like Union and Snyder.

Weller already leads another major local nonprofit, Union-Snyder Community Action Agency, where she is listed as executive director. That group says its 2024 community needs assessment drew feedback from staff, advisory-board members, customers and community partners, a network that could help connect aging services with other local supports. Union-Snyder Agency on Aging also operates senior centers in Lewisburg, Beaver Springs, Penns Creek and Selinsgrove, making the leadership change one that will be felt well beyond the agency’s office.