Last December, Emmy Hildebrand, HVAF’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Public Policy, received her Black Belt… her Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, that is.

Lean Six Sigma is a methodology that combines two process improvement methods to decrease organizational costs and increase efficiency.  

The two methods are:

Lean— finding any wasted time/steps,

Six Sigma—  reducing the variations that sometimes cause mistakes.

For 10 months, Emmy took courses through Purdue University; first earning her Green Belt and then earning her Black Belt last December.

Emmy said it is important for her to be certified because taking the courses helped her learn tools and techniques that she can use to serve the veterans and HVAF.

In order to earn her Black Belt, Emmy studied HVAF’s clothing pantry. Through surveying veterans and staff, and understanding every step in the process, HVAF decided to move forward with the models they have in place now.  

“They are more focused on our veterans and help us more

efficiently use our donations to provide what our veterans need and want,” Emmy said.

Emmy said she will continue to use the knowledge she gained from these courses to serve HVAF’s veterans.

“I’m looking forward to identifying the next project we can undertake at HVAF that will help us better serve veterans and also operate more efficiently,” Emmy said.

HVAF’s food, clothing and hygiene pantries are open every Tuesday and Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at HVAF.