Featured Member

Craig Stoker, Executive Director of Meals on Wheels of Odessa Published December 2024   ABOUT MEALS ON WHEELS OF ODESSA Meals on Wheels of Odessa (MOWO) is a powerful example of how community-driven initiatives can grow and thrive with the right partnerships and support. Founded in 1977, MOWO began as a small grassroots effort, purchasing […]

Denise Usener, Executive Director The Golden Hub Community Center in Fredericksburg Published November 2021 Tell me a little bit about your organization. Golden Hub Community Center started in Fredericksburg 1977 in the basements of small churches. In 1982, we moved to our current location, and within 6 months, we owned the building. Although we offer

How did you become interested in this work? I have always had a passion for helping the under‐served populations…giving a voice to those that are often forgotten. The home‐bound senior population falls into this category because they are not in the public eye and therefore overlooked when it comes to much needed social services. Taking

How did you become interested in this work? When I started working as a controller for the local program that runs senior centers and provides congregate meals, I actually had no idea that the remainder of my working life would be spent in senior nutrition. That was 38 years ago. It only took one trip

How did you become interested in this work? To be quite honest, I needed a job and the hours worked well with my kids being in school. After working for a small amount of time, I fell in love with the job. I started out as a driver who delivered meals, and now I am

How did you become interested in this work? To be honest I didn’t know what Amigos Del Valle, Inc. did when I first came in to work for the organization. Once I learned of the organization’s mission statement and meeting the people we serve, I fell in love with helping the most vulnerable on a

How did you become interested in this work? I was introduced to the Rainbow Senior Center and serving the aging population as an intern during my last semester at the University of Texas at San Antonio.  I had no idea that it would launch a long term career and become something that I would end

Name: Ali Al Sudani Title: Senior Vice President for Programs and Chief of Staff Organization: Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston  How did you become interested in this work? My background is in training, engineering, process improvement and project management. I was born and raised in Iraq. After I graduated from college, I worked with different

Name: Ashley Lind Title: Vice President of Meals on Wheels & Population Health Organization: Visiting Nurse Association of Texas How did you become interested in this work? I have had a passion for social serves since I was very young. I participated in a peer support program in my school which introduced me to the importance of

Name: Judy Ford Title: Executive Director Organization: Sunshine House, Inc.  How did you become interested in this work? In 1988 I helped Meals for the Elderly input their information on clients from 3×5 cards into a computer program.  The comments I read on these cards opened my eyes to the needs of the senior adults living