ABLE (A Brighter Living Experience) warmly welcomes their new executive director, Lee Walraven, to the ABLE family.
ABLE is a nonprofit organization that provides residential care for the developmentally disabled in Houston County, Minn.
The nonprofit organization began back in 1979. At the time, parents in Houston County started an organization with the goal of finding alternative care options for their developmentally disabled loved ones instead of utilizing services at a state institution or keeping their loved ones at home. In 1980, Houston County Group Home first opened in Caledonia, Minn. In 1982, an intermediate care facility opened in La Crescent, Minn. Houston County Group Home soon changed their name to ABLE, as ABLE better reflected the nonprofit’s vision and mission.
Forty-five years later, Walraven joins ABLE as the nonprofit’s newest executive director. ABLE currently serves roughly 52 residents. ABLE has 11 residential houses throughout both Caledonia and La Crescent, one intermediary care facility in La Crescent, with roughly 110 staff total.
Walraven originally hails from a small town outside Sioux Falls, S. Dak.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion at South Dakota State University. While enrolled in college, Walraven also served in the Army National Guard. He did his basic training during 9/11. Walraven got deployed twice during his enlistment. In 2009, he left the military and completed his degree program.
In 2010, Walraven relocated to La Crosse, Wis., to pursue his master’s degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Walraven’s career began at the La Crosse YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) where he served as their Wellness Director. Shortly after he began working at the Y, the YMCA looked into establishing a healthy living center which later got built in 2016. The goal of establishing this healthy living center was to reduce the cost of care for those getting out of hospitals. Over Walraven’s time at the Y, he moved up and took on more roles. In 2018, the YMCA in Winona, Minn., had no director so Walraven slowly became their interim director. Walraven greatly enjoyed the executive director aspect of his role. From his experience at the YMCA, Walraven understood more of what services he wanted to provide for others.
After the YMCA, in 2022, Walraven began his next chapter at Families First of Monroe County in Tomah, Wis. He worked to help families who faced housing insecurity. Walraven would help these families either remain in their existing home or find other suitable housing. He stated, “I always have a drive to serve individuals!”
Walraven took great interest when he found ABLE was hiring for an executive director role. He always loved this line of work. In addition, the position would bring him to La Crescent, where his son attends school. “It was an opportunity I could not pass on,” commented Walraven.
So far, Walraven is enjoying his time with ABLE. His favorite part of the job is getting to meet all the different personalities of ABLE’s people supported. He noted it was fun visiting all the ABLE houses and meeting everyone. He acknowledged one of the biggest challenges ABLE faces is staffing. Walraven shared that one of the ways ABLE has targeted the staffing issue is by working with the county to implement a remote monitoring service which is currently being done at one of the houses. Remote monitoring has been implemented by other agencies across Minnesota.
Walraven’s goals as executive director include connecting with guardians of the people supported to ensure they know the care their loved one receives and who their loved one is being cared by. Walraven also wants to connect with ABLE’s employees in the organizaiton to understand what all is going on. Lastly, he wants to build the organization strong so it can continue.
Walraven shared, “My leadership style is serving.” He hopes to be as transparent as possible to best communicate with all the people supported, their guardians, staff and community.
ABLE’s mission is, “To offer living and learning opportunities to individuals with developmental disabilities. Our services honor uniqueness and promote dignity, independence, and self-esteem.”
Their vision is, “An inclusive community where everyone belongs.”
Their values include, “Advocacy, community, intentionality, and grace.”
Leave a Reply