We have been so thankful to have Danny’s leadership, expertise, and compassion as part of #TeamHVAF since 2018! He started out as a case manager, and now leads our permanent housing department. Get to know Danny better:

Q: How long have you been on #TeamHVAF?
A: 6 years in September!

Q: Why did you decide to work for HVAF?
A: At the time I applied for HVAF, they had acquired a new grant for a program called Transition in Place and were looking to hire case managers to staff it. So the opportunity to help build that program up, provide direct services, and assist veterans experiencing homelessness checked every single box for me.

Q: What does your day-to-day look like as Permanent Housing Director?
A: Every day is a little different depending on what situations might come up. A typical day consists largely of collaborating with my staff to come up with solutions for clinical, programmatic/operational, or community level situations. So I can get walk-ins from staff to talk through situations, but we also are intentional about scheduling meetings to talk things through one-on-one or as a group. Sometimes I will have meetings with community partners to collaborate our efforts as well. As a team, we try to build in as much time as possible to meet to plan things out, and innovate the way we do things as well. We are always trying to evolve and do things a little better every day.

Q: What does it mean to you to be able to serve veterans?
A: To me, it means my work is targeted towards a population that is definitely its own as a group but also is inclusive of individuals with unique backgrounds and experiences. As a group, the veteran population has their own uniqueness. This is true in terms of the obstacles and experiences they may have collectively, and the overall resilience we see in veterans. But I also see that each veteran is their own individual self, and have other experiences/backgrounds that they identify with. So I always like to make sure I am mindful that each veteran brings with them their own unique experiences and sense of being, but also balancing that with their membership to the veteran community. At the end of the day, I am truly honored to serve those who had the courage and bravery to serve our country. Veterans are truly resilient and the success stories that we get to see week in and week out are absolutely incredible.

Q: When you are not working, where can we find you?
A: At home tending to my 10 animals (2 pitties, 4 cats, and recently 4 chickens). My favorite thing to do is watch movies/shows and be a couch potato. I am a little bit of a gym rat, so you can always find me at the gym!

Q: Anything else you would like to share?
A: HVAF has been home base for me for quite some time, and I’ve seen my share of changes here. Throughout my career here, I’ve seen HVAF constantly evolve to better serve the veteran community and be supportive of our staff here. I think what makes HVAF great is that we have leaders throughout all positions in our agency, and our leadership is intentional about encouraging leadership in everyone. If you feel like you got it, they are on board to see it happen and support you in doing it. I believe that mindset of our leadership and organization has allowed us to evolve as we have. I’m truly proud to be part of Team HVAF.