He only meant to volunteer for a year. Decades later, he’s the COO.
Mercy Home congratulates COO Joe Wronka on being named a Notable Leader in Philanthropy by Crain’s Chicago Business. To celebrate this honor, we take a closer look at Wronka’s life and work on behalf of our young people.
In 2004, Joe Wronka, a recent graduate of St. John’s University in Minnesota, signed up for a volunteer year-of-service program known as MercyWorks. The program brought young college graduates from across the country to Chicago, where they worked directly with young people at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls while living together in a faith-based, service-oriented community.
The attacks of September 11th during Wronka’s sophomore year served as a catalyst to seek out ways to give back to his country. His parents had instilled in their son the values of hard work and service to others.
“It was a prevailing theme in our family. We’ve been given a lot, and we have to give a lot back.”
His plan was to complete the program before going to work at the Chicago Board of Trade.
“I told myself I was going to be independently wealthy and retired by the time I was 40,” Wronka said.
A different voice told him something else.
“I heard God’s whisper saying, ‘This is the place for right now.’”
“Right now” would become more than 20 years and several roles at the Home, culminating in his current dual service as Vice President of Advancement and Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Throughout his volunteer year, Wronka worked with our 11- to 14-year-old young men. The relationships he built with coworkers and our young people drew him even closer to the heart of the mission.
“Helping kids find success through their own hard work and the resources Mercy Home provided was something I really wanted to keep doing more of,” Wronka said.
While Wronka was nearing the end of his service year, Father Scott was deepening the Home’s investment in education for Mercy Home’s children. He offered Wronka a job as a youth care worker and Education Coordinator.
“That was really the beginning of dedicating more staff support for education and careers, which we felt would lead to better outcomes for our kids,” Father Scott said.
Later, Wronka joined our fundraising team in advancement where he got his first experience working with donors. He enjoyed visiting supporters’ homes and talking to them about their lives and about Mercy Home. “I love hearing how the Mercy Home mission connects with their personal mission. That always inspired me and still does,” he said.
By that point, he had married a fellow member of his MercyWorks volunteer class, Debbie Rose. Still feeling a calling to serve in different ways, the couple decided to teach in Thailand. After about 10 months, they planned to take part in a similar program in South America. But before they left, the couple learned they were expecting their first child.
Both Wronkas returned to Mercy Home, Joe working shifts in our youth programs while creating a business plan to open a resale shop that helps fund our mission. That role gave him experience managing the renovation of the donated space that would become the store known as Mercy Beaucoup.
Wronka then worked in our Human Resources Department providing required trainings for our coworkers—experience with developing our coworkers’ talents that would be critical in his future role as COO.
And later, he was asked to lead our Education Department, dedicated to supporting youth in achieving academic and career success, which Father Scott had established a few years before.
“One of Father Scott’s greatest strengths is he always seeks perspectives from many coworkers about improving our efforts to achieve better outcomes,” Wronka said.
Yet complementing his innovative spirit, according to Wronka, is Father Scott’s belief that “our core business is being a home for kids.” That faithfulness to our mission has enabled Mercy Home to remain stable while continually adapting to current needs for 138 years.
In 2016, Wronka returned to our Advancement Department as its vice president, where he is responsible for raising and stewarding the resources we need to help kids in crisis. While overseeing fundraising operations, Wronka earned an MBA from the University of Notre Dame in 2020.
Finally, in 2023, Father Scott named him as the Home’s COO, where he directly supports the development and achievement of the Home’s strategic goals. He also continues to serve as head of our fundraising team and feels supported in our efforts by our donors who have faithfully supported the Home through good times and bad.
“When challenges present themselves, I have great confidence in this organization because of the support that we have from friends across the country and my coworkers,” Wronka said. “It’s a privilege to be a steward of our donors’ support to help the children at Mercy Home, and to work with them to see their giving be put to good use.”
Though he chose a life of service to kids and families in need over a career in finance, Wronka says he has opportunities throughout each day to apply the skills he has learned in his business training, whether it’s managing teams and budgets, developing new youth-led entrepreneurial programs, or encouraging innovation while remaining true to the Home’s core mission.
Joe Wronka first heard God’s whisper more than 20 years ago, calling him to take a different path. Mercy Home is a stronger, more stable organization today because he listened.
Wronka’s Notable profile appears in a commemorative feature in the June 2, 2025 edition of Crain’s Chicago Business.
