A LIFE’S WORK CREATING ‘HOME’
By Melanie Zuercher
In 1978, Tim Wiens ’74 was a young social worker, just four years past earning his bachelor’s degree at Bethel, when his congregation, Hyattsville (Md.) Mennonite Church, called him to join a ministry they were starting.
That was the genesis of Jubilee Association of Maryland Inc., which began as one group home for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), tapping into a growing movement in the United States to get people with IDD out of institutions and into home-like settings.
At the time, Wiens was working as a clinical counselor in a Montgomery County agency. He was drawn to the challenge of doing organizational social work, being involved in a new organization from the ground up.
Forty years later, when Wiens retired as executive director, Jubilee had gone from one home with seven adults, three staff and an annual budget of $40,000 to 140 clients in 70 locations with 260 staff and a $12 million budget.
Wiens is the recipient of Bethel’s 2025 Distinguished Achievement Award, which acknowledges character and citizenship, achievement in a chosen profession or vocation, and work of benefit to humanity.
The citation lists Wiens’ “award-winning career, advocating for and serving individuals with intellectual disabilities through his leadership and unwavering commitment to inclusion, empowerment and community-building.
“Tim’s visionary work has transformed lives, shaped policy and inspired generations of professionals in the field of disability services.”
Although Wiens officially retired in 2019, he surprised no one who knew him when he kept working. In 2020, he took a part-time position as executive director of Maryland Inclusive Housing Corporation (MIH), which develops and provides Housing Support Services (HSS).
Cooperating with the Maryland Development Disabilities Administration (DDA), MIH aims to create “a world in which everyone with IDD has the support they need to create their perfect home in affordable, accessible communities where people with and without disabilities live.”
Wiens is also a private consultant on board governance, agency growth and transformation, and providing services for people with IDD in Maryland.
Wiens finished an associate of arts degree at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College and then his B.S. in social work at Bethel. There followed a move to the Washington, D.C., area, where he earned a Master’s of Social Work at Catholic University in 1976. In 1999, he completed his specialist degree in Health Services Administration at George Washington University.
Along with running and growing Jubilee over four decades, Wiens held a number of organizational leadership positions: twice president of the Wheaton-Kensington Chamber of Commerce; chair of the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee for People with Developmental Disabilities of Montgomery County multiple times; and a board member for 12 years of the Maryland Association of Community Services (MACS), which comprises about 120 agencies that provide community services to Maryland adults with developmental disabilities, serving at various times as president, vice president and chair of the Quality Assurance Committee.
In 1999, Arc of Maryland named Wiens Outstanding Professional of the Year. On his retirement from Jubilee, he received a MACS Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2019.
Wiens has also been a leader at Hyattsville through the years, including chairing the congregation and various church committees.
Wiens and his wife, Mary Jo (Schumacher), live in Silver Spring, Md. They have two married sons and two granddaughters. He enjoys movies, traveling, golf, good novels and pan-seared salmon.
The 2025 alumni award winners will be honored and will speak in convocation on April 6, 2026.