By Tom Jarvis
Marcia “Marty” Sink, founder, president, and CEO of Court Appointed Special Advocates of New Hampshire (CASA), has announced that she will retire as of July 1, 2026, after nearly four decades leading the organization she started in 1989.
Sink, 70, says the timing reflects both the organization’s strength and her confidence that CASA is ready for its next phase of leadership.
“After 38 years, it’s just time to hand over the reins,” she says. “I feel like the organization is in such a good place in a lot of ways, with strong leadership not only from our board but from our staff. The recognition that continues from the judiciary, the legislature, the governor’s office – that CASA is kind of a force to be reckoned with and we’re here to stay – shows the organization is in a good place.”
From Foster Parent to Founder
Originally from New York, Sink completed most of her undergraduate studies at Loyola College in Montreal (now part of Concordia University) before earning a four-year degree from Springfield College in Massachusetts. Before CASA, she built a career in restaurant and retail management, stepping into the work without training in law or social work.
Her path to the organization began when she and her husband became foster parents in their mid-30s.
“My husband and I decided to become foster parents, and although we didn’t have many foster children in and out of our home, we became aware of some of these massive gaps in our child protection system and juvenile court system,” she recalls. “I can remember kids showing up with a social worker dropping them off, literally with a garbage bag containing everything they owned. It was incredibly sad.”
In one emergency placement, three young girls arrived on a cold day wearing thin dresses.
“These kids showed up with no underwear on a cold day in little cotton dresses,” she says. “I reached out to friends of mine who I knew had girls, saying, ‘Do you have some clothing?’ It was just so incredible.”
Later, the infant who would become her adoptive son was placed in her home straight from the hospital and, for the two years prior to his adoption, she never met the guardian ad litem assigned to his case.
“I kept thinking, how can this person represent his best interests in court when they’ve never even met him? Or me?” she says.
Around the same time, a Parade magazine cover story on children “in the foster care drift” introduced her to the then-new national Court Appointed Special Advocates model, in which trained volunteers serve as guardians ad litem for abused and neglected children.
“I thought, ‘This is it. I want to be a CASA volunteer,’” Sink says.
She called the Seattle-based national office, only to learn that New Hampshire was one of a handful of states without a CASA program. Staff there encouraged her to consider starting a program in the Granite State.
Sink reached out to then-Goffstown District Court Presiding Judge Paul Lawrence and then-Manchester District Court Judge Norman Champagne, and formed an ad hoc steering committee that met in her church basement.
CASA then launched in 1989 with $5,000 in seed money from the National CASA organization, which also provided a “playbook” for starting a program.
Building a Statewide Model
CASA recruits, trains, and supports volunteers who serve as guardians ad litem in abuse and neglect cases, gathering information, meeting regularly with children and caregivers, and making recommendations to the court about what is in a child’s best interest.
From an initial cohort of 10 volunteers serving two courts, CASA has grown into a statewide program with a presence in every circuit and family court in New Hampshire. Under Sink’s leadership, CASA has trained more than 3,000 volunteers who have advocated for over 13,000 children in the court system. In recent years, the organization has averaged about 600 active volunteers each year.
New Hampshire’s CASA program was deliberately structured as a single statewide nonprofit, rather than a patchwork of local chapters.
“We were really strategic in those early days in how we developed as a single statewide CASA program, and we’re kind of unique in a lot of ways throughout the country,” Sink says. “Because of the demographics and the geography of the state and the overlap with district offices of DCYF and the courts, it didn’t make sense that we would potentially be competing for fundraising and for volunteers. Having everything under one dome made sense and still makes sense.”
The CASA central office is in Manchester, with additional offices or space in Dover, Laconia, Keene, Claremont, Colebrook, and Berlin.
Perspective from the Bench and Bar
Members of the Bar who have worked with Sink and CASA over the years describe her impact in strong terms.
“Marty Sink is a force of nature,” says Judge Susan Carbon. “Nearly 40 years ago, she embarked upon a challenge to the court system – to open its doors to volunteers from all walks of life to represent the best interests of children in cases of abuse and neglect. This was no small feat. Courts are slow to change, but her gentle and persistent persuasion led to a profound and unique way to bring the voices of children into court.”
Carbon continues: “She grew CASA out of whole cloth, and court by court, judge by judge, convinced us that volunteer advocates could provide insight and understanding into the lives of children, the likes of which had never been done before. The presence and participation of CASA in courtrooms all across New Hampshire has vastly improved our ability to serve children and families in these difficult cases.”
CASA Board Co-chair and past NHBA President Paul Chant says that, in his nearly 40 years of practice, he “can think of no individual who has affected the lives of the citizens of New Hampshire in the legal system during that time more than Marty Sink.”
“Through Marty’s love and devotion to her work, more than 13,000 kids have had the support of a committed, caring, attentive volunteer advocating for their best interests. What a career,” Chant says. “Marty built an amazing organization with truly exceptional people. Her commitment and profound love for her kids permeate CASA, from the attention and support given to the advocates, the raising of substantial funds each year through donor relationships, and in building a talented, strategic board that is well-prepared to guide the organization into its next season.”
In 2001, Sink was recognized by the New Hampshire Bar Foundation with its Frank Rowe Kenison award, becoming the first – and one of only two – recipients who are not lawyers or judges.
Looking Ahead
To find its next leader, CASA’s board has convened a search committee and hired the national firm Kittleman & Associates to conduct the recruitment. Sink will remain as president and CEO until her successor is in place.
In addition, she expects to stay on key statewide bodies long enough to help transition CASA’s seats – such as the New Hampshire Access to Justice Commission and the Court Improvement Project – to her successor or other senior leaders.
“I want to take some serious downtime,” she says of her retirement plans. “This job is all-consuming. The 50- to 60-hour workweeks are something that I enjoyed, but the time has come to slow down a little bit – but not completely.”
In retirement, Sink plans to continue to support children and families in New Hampshire in some capacity, while spending more time with her family.
“Hopefully, the skills I’ve developed can continue to support and help others in New Hampshire,” she says.