Press Release
Dr. Michael Held Assumes Position as ETTA CEO; Board promotes COO Scott Saliman to Executive Director
Press Release
July 22, 2025
Media Contact
Meira Feinman, meira@etta.org / 818-749-4269
Dr. Michael Held Assumes Position as ETTA CEO;
Board promotes COO Scott Saliman to Executive Director
Changes reflect ETTA’s growth as an organization and approaching role as program provider to the Bhatia Family Village, a project of ETTA’s sister agency Cornerstone Housing
Los Angeles, CA—The Board of Directors of ETTA unanimously approved Dr. Michael Held’s appointment to the new position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Scott Saliman’s promotion to the position of Executive Director, effective July 1, 2025. ETTA is a premier provider of housing, case management, employment training, educational services and social services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Held founded ETTA in 1992 and has served as its Executive Director for 33 years. In his new role as CEO, he will focus on ETTA’s trailblazing program, the Bhatia Family Village in West Los Angeles. The Village is a first-of-its-kind urban supported living setting for neurodiverse adults, scheduled to open this fall.
Dr. Michael Held
Scott Saliman
Saliman, who previously served in senior roles at Goldman Sachs, the Charles & Helen Schwab Foundation, and the RAND Corporation, as well as consulting with Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, will expand his portfolio from ETTA’s COO to its Executive Director, overseeing an organization that has grown from eight clients and an annual budget of $200,000 to 175 clients and an annual budget of $16 million. Between 2004 and 2015, Scott served various part-time and full-time roles at ETTA, including as financial consultant, CFO, and COO, rejoining full time as COO in 2022.
“ETTA is a remarkable part of the fabric of the Los Angeles community, enabling people with disabilities to achieve greater independence, autonomy and inclusion,” said Held and Saliman in a joint statement. “With the support of the Board of Directors, the ETTA staff, and the ETTA community of clients and families, we look forward to supporting and enhancing our multiple ETTA programs for our clients and expanding our vision to bring the Bhatia Family Village to the community.”
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About ETTA: ETTA’s mission is to provide programs and services that enable people with disabilities, and the families who love them, to live fully enriched, independent, included and active lives as members of the Los Angeles community. ETTA’s vision is an inclusive, participatory community of people, with and without disabilities, succeeding and growing together.