Today we’d like to introduce you to John Hill.
Hi John, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Oak Cliff (Cedar Crest) and returned shortly after college to teach in Dallas ISD. After over a decade supporting leaders seeking political office, I’m happy to have found an opportunity with Housing Forward to combine fundraising, government relations, and public relations to transition people from homelessness to being back on their feet.
My educational journey is from Episcopal School of Dallas (elementary through middle school) to Jesuit (high school) then onto Harvard (undergraduate) and finally SMU (Masters), which provided me a wealth of experience and skills that I’ve been able to directly invest into my hometown.
These educational experiences allowed me to honor a commitment I made to my grandmother, who taught in Dallas ISD and is buried near where she taught for about 20 years, to teach. L.G. Pinkston High School in West Dallas is where I began with Teach for America, and I even returned to Jesuit to teach with my former teachers.
I just feel blessed and fortunate to have the opportunity to make a small difference where I grew up. I’m grateful we have such a generous community and strong elected leadership that makes creative solutions to common problems possible.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not! Like any other person in this great city, there have been some hard times. Having worked for myself for several years, there are some unique challenges that come from entrepreneurship as primary employment rather than the increasingly popular “side hustle.”
There’s mistakes big and small, some heartbreak, some bad decisions, economic insecurity, hurt feelings, etc. Still, there is a great deal of sunlight. Some one-of-a-kind accomplishments, finding success where others tried and failed, dollars raised, people helped, and everything in between.
There’s not enough space in this text box to tell all of the stories; however, through the difficult times and the times of great blessings, I’ve found myself in a position to make a tangible difference for the most vulnerable and have a successful body of work to stand on. I’m humbled to have had the opportunity to take some big chances and to have objectivly delivered for people who have bet on me.
Board service is also a lovely challenge which can be smooth and lumpy. I’m proud to serve with Dallas Free Press and Dallas Afterschool, both organizations with strong leaders and boards who have skillfully navigated the challenges of COVID-19 and changing political landscape. I’m honored to have served along side them both.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am currently the Chief External Relations Officer for Housing Forward. Housing Forward is the lead agency for the Continuum of Care (CoC) that coordinates homeless response for Dallas and Collin Counties. The All Neighbors Coalition is an inspiring and dedicated group of over 150 expert partners serving our homeless neighbors. My primary responsibilities are fundraising, government relations, and public relations.
I’d say those areas of focus have been where I have sharpened my professional skills for the last +15 years. From calling Harvard alumni for small-dollar donations in a call center to now leading fundraising for a major regional nonprofit, my professional career has been marked with a need for fundraising and leveraging elected leadership for community impact over the course of my entire adult life.
I am most proud of being part of the Housing Forward team, which has transitioned over 21,000 people from homelessness to a stable place to live and a chance to reclaim their fututes. Just recently we were able to secure $10M from the City which will directly benefit our most vulnerable and continue the success in resolving homlessness since 2021.
I’m also proud of our current makeup of elected officials at the local level. Our Dallas ISD school board, our City Council, and our County Commissioners Court are strong. While they don’t agree with each other 100% of the time, they aren’t supposed to! What we have are leaders in every seat who care deeply about their constituents and the future of our communities. Having played a part in several campaigns over the years, I’m proud we have the leaders we do.
I think what sets me apart from others is the comfort I feel in uncomfortable situations. Perfect is not the standard I strive for. The “it might not be pretty, but we’ll get there” approach is what I follow more times than not, and most of the time we’ve arrived where we hoped. That said, I’ve taking many a winding path or a long way around, but I can look back and point to success rather than “I failed but look how great I looked doing it!”
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck is everything because timing is everything, and there is no such thing as guaranteeing an outcome.
There are decisions that turned out well because I made them when I did but would have turned out poorly if I waited even a week later. There are people who are dear friends who I never would have met if I decided to stay home instead of attend whichever event where I met them. We never truly know how things will pan out, but we do the best we can with the information we have at the time.
Contact Info:
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/johnchilldallas
