Dan H. Hoxworth, President and CEO, Child and Family Tennessee.
Knoxville, Tenn. (May 20, 2011) – Dan Hoxworth, the recent director of the H3 and Transit for Livable Communities, but most known for his years leading the Neighborhood House in St. Paul, has been named the new President and Chief Executive Officer of Child & Family Tennessee. The CFT Board of Directors selected Hoxworth last month to replace Kathryn O’Day, who was appointed as Tennessee Commissioner of the Department of Children’s Services in January.
CFT Board Chair Dr. Karen Sowers says Hoxworth was selected to as a leader to continuing an 82-year mission of strengthening East Tennessee’s families, and said she believes Hoxworth will take the organization in a positive direction.
“We interviewed numerous candidates, and it was a unanimous decision to hire Dan Hoxworth,” said Sowers, who is also the Dean of the University of Tennessee College of Social Work. “He brings years of experience in the non-profit sector and has helped other organizations achieve success both with their clients and financially. As Board Chair, I am anxious to see the positive results I know Dan will bring Child & Family Tennessee.”
Serving 16 counties in East Tennessee since 1929, Child & Family Tennessee helps people thrive and not simply survive by helping them achieve healthy lives both emotionally and physically and secure financial independence. A leader in evidence-based practices, Child and Family Tennessee ensures that every life they are fortunate enough to touch is done so with care, concern and quality.
“Hiring Dan is a step in the right direction to making positive changes at CFT,” Sowers added. “Service with the opportunity to re-engineer the leadership role for the next decade means crafting an even more effective and nimble organization poised to build on our previous successes. These opportunities and challenges create new environments for our clients and employees.”
Hoxworth comes to Knoxville from Mahtomedi, Minn., where he was President at H3 (H-cubed), providing consulting services to nonprofits to assist them in reaching their potential. Previously, he was the Executive Director of Transit for Livable Communities, where he helped the organization achieve immediate high visibility and realigned communication strategies; and President of Neighborhood House, where he created and developed the $25 million, 93,000-square-foot Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center for Community Building.
Additionally, he has successfully led a $27.5 million capital campaign and served on A Minnesota Without Poverty Statewide Organizing Committee, the City of Mahtomedi Planning Commission and as Chair of the Council of Agency Executives for the Greater Twin Cities United Way.
Hoxworth has an A.B.D. (All but dissertation) Ph.D. in Administrative Sciences and a Master’s in Public Administration with Dual Emphasis: Nonprofit Management and Urban Administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, in Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Hoxworth said it was a “privilege and honor to join CFT, crediting its strong Board of Directors for its continued success in meeting its challenging goals. He said the move to Tennessee is a return to the familiar Applachian and Southern culture he was raised in with his father’s roots in the bootheel of Missouri and his mother’s in Ozarks of Missouri. Ultimately, however, he said this is a new challenge.
“Just as I did during my time at Neighborhood House, I am looking forward to the opportunity to ensure the organization has the financial resources to expand the quality programs to meet their high demand, to invest and retain its talented staff, enhance the quality of the organization’s facilities, and increase the organization’s financial vitality,” said Hoxworth.
Reflecting on his time in Minnesota, Hoxworth said he appreciates very much a community that embraced him and allowed him to grow and to learn.
“I believed that if we want people to reach for their dreams, we need to create spaces that reinforce and inspire them,” he said. “To that end, I certainly hope the Wellstone Center continues to embrace the people who walk into its doors just as Senator Wellstone and his wife, Sheila inspired so many people.”
Hoxworth said he is proud of not only the facility and what it stands for, but that was it was created as a major civic engagement model for immigrant communities including the Hmong, Latino and Somali. He said this fit the historic values of Neighborhood House and the spirit of the Wellstones drove the process.
“As you can tell, I have strong feelings for this place and the people,” Hoxworth added. “The immigrant communities in Minnesota inspired me daily for 10 years at Neighborhood House with their resiliency and perseverance and continue to do so today. I will miss them. I will be watching to see if their prosperity in Minnesota continues because it is a barometer for all Minnesotans. As Senator Wellstone said, ‘We all do better, when we all do better.’”
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