When the pandemic hit, shutting down much of the world in a matter of weeks, Jamie Merrill was working as vice president of operations for Brookdale Senior Living in Tennessee, overseeing more than 70 assisted living facilities that housed those most vulnerable to COVID-19.

“I was working 24 hours a day,” said Merrill, who was named the new president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida on Thursday, replacing Gary Cain, the longtime leader who announced plans to retire late last year.

As COVID cases accelerated and safety policies were handed down from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Merrill’s Brookdale team had to learn to adapt.

“At one point, the regulations changed three times in one day for visitor restrictions and other rules,” she said.

But she said the time she spent there prepared her for her newest role working with the children served by the 40 Boys & Girls Club locations across six Central Florida counties.

“How people feel emotionally about their children… it’s similar to the type of feelings families go through when they have to put mom or dad into a skilled nursing or an assisted living,” Merrill said. “Are they going to be well taken care of? Are they going to be the same when I come and see them? Are there going to be concerns that happen that I’m not going to know about? These are the same type of emotional feelings that I dealt with from the senior living side that I know people deal with from the youth side as well.”

Merrill was chosen by the Boy & Girls Clubs board of directors following a seven-month search for a new leader, said Brock Nicholas, chair of the executive search committee and past board chair.

While searching for a new leader, Nicholas said his committee was looking for someone with a track record of success not only in overseeing multiple operational sites and managing finances but who could also understand how family dynamics and traumas faced by children and their parents should inform how the organization serves the community and creates programs.

“The continuity of leadership in this organization with Gary (Cain) at the helm has been a blessing to the community and the children we serve for three decades,” Nicholas said. “The volume of inbound candidates was overwhelming, and in many ways a loud message to our group that the organization and market was, as we thought, a rare and prized one to lead. The search committee found Jamie’s background to be an optimum balance of all the skills, experiences and priorities above, and could not be more confident about the future of the organization under her dedicated leadership.”

Though much of her professional life has focused on the needs of senior citizens, Merrill said she has “a heart for service.” After experiencing the hardships of single motherhood in her mid-20s as she raised her oldest daughter, now a sophomore at the University of Central Florida, she said she also has a soft spot for the single parents the Boys & Girls Clubs serve.

In addition to her leadership experience, Board Chair Lisa Mihelich said that desire to serve is what pushed Merrill to the top of the list for the search committee.

“Jamie is a visionary leader with a heart for service and developing others,” Mihelich said. “She has the clear-eyed vision and experience-forged wisdom necessary to help build on the tremendous strengths of our organization, and our staff’s outstanding track record enriching the lives and prospects of underserved children.”

As Merrill readies to start her role on Aug. 14, she said her first step is to visit as many Boy & Girls Club locations as she can to connect with their leadership and staff members who work directly with children so she can understand their needs.

“My biggest priority is going to be to get into the clubs and to see how the clubs operate and to interact with my team and the children,” she said. “My heart is always going to be in the field with my team. … My overall philosophy is: If you’re not serving the youth directly, serve someone who is. That’s my mission.”

dstennett@orlandosentinel.com