Dallas, Texas – On Thursday, November 1, 2018, following a five month long nationwide search, the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA) Board of Directors chose Carl Falconer, of Jacksonville, Florida, as its new President and CEO. Falconer will assume his role as leader of Dallas and Collin Counties’ homeless response system, later this month, on November 19, 2018. His appointment coincides with encouraging developments in Dallas’ fight to end homelessness, within area local governments, as well as the nonprofit community.
Carl Falconer
Karen Hughes, President and CEO of the Vogel Alcove, chairs the MDHA board, and chaired the search committee, that recommended Falconer for the position. “We are thrilled,” Hughes said, “Carl brings with him both extensive knowledge and a wealth of experience, in working to end homelessness in Jacksonville, Florida. He is passionate about ending homelessness and is exactly the type of leader MDHA needs at this time. MDHA under Carl’s leadership can, indeed, join forces with our partners, to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in Dallas and Collin Counties.”
Karen Hughes
Falconer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of North Florida. He has worked with persons experiencing homelessness and mental illness, since 1994, from street outreach, to emergency shelter, to housing programs. He currently serves as a Regional Director with Lutheran Services Florida Health Systems, which manages behavioral health care for people facing poverty, in Northeast and North Central Florida.
An eight-year U.S. Army veteran, Falconer approaches his new assignment with a sense of mission, and describes himself as passionate about and committed to ending homelessness. “I am excited for the opportunity to work alongside the great people of Dallas and Collin Counties,” he said, “I look forward to meeting all of our partners, and making a difference in ending homelessness in Greater Dallas.”
Dr. Theresa Daniel (Courtesy of the Advocate Magazine)
Dr. Theresa Daniel, Dallas County Commissioner (District 1), who co-chairs the Dallas Area Partnership to End and Prevent Homelessness, a joint body of the City of Dallas and Dallas County, was a member of the search committee. She was drawn not only to Falconer’s expertise and creativity, but to his experience working with local government, too. She described Falconer, as, “A leader who knows the topic well through broad personal experience, and has shown an ability to champion creative ideas. His contact with local government in the past is particularly important to me because he understands the big picture of how the homeless system of services works together, so that the partnerships have a better chance of being successful.”
Falconer will find other willing partners within local government, most notably in the City of Dallas’ Office of Homeless Solutions, which has spent recent months rolling out plans for expanded housing and shelter for those experiencing homelessness. He will be able to take advantage of new developments in the non-profit community, as well, including the recent opening of Catholic Charities of Dallas’ St. Jude Center, a permanent supportive housing program for homeless seniors, as well as United Way of Metropolitan Dallas’ growing involvement in efforts to end homelessness, since 2015.
Dr. Iain De Jong (Courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune)
Dr. Iain De Jong, a pioneering world expert in the homelessness arena, has worked closely with Dallas’ homeless response system, in recent years. Earlier this year he led more than 70 local leaders in drawing up Dallas’ Strategic Plan to Advance the Work of Ending Homelessness. With that in mind, he applauded the MDHA board’s decision to choose Falconer, “Carl is an established leader who has the right experience to help the Dallas community take the next step forward in ending homelessness.”
