July 1, 2017
Opportunity Village Welcomes Keith Hughes as Programs and Services Director
Click to Tweet: (http://ctt.ec/92oNX) .@OppVillageLV announces new hire Keith Hughes as Programs & Services Director! #Congrats #nonprofitnews
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Las Vegas’ Favorite Charity, Opportunity Village, announces today the appointment of Keith Hughes, who joins the organization as Director of Programs and Services. In this role, Hughes will oversee the PRIDE, Enable, Community Outreach and Fine and Performing Arts programs, as well as OV’s full-time skilled nursing services, the only such service offered in Southern Nevada, and a case management team that ensures the highest quality of services are delivered. Additionally, Hughes will manage and mentor staff to help develop OV’s next generation of leaders.
Hughes joined the Opportunity Village team at the end of June. Prior to OV, Hughes worked with U.S. Congressman Joe Heck, D.O. (R-NV) as a District Director overseeing constituent assistance programs for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other related issues.
Hughes, a Michigan native, began his professional career in law enforcement shortly after graduating high school. After three and a half years, Hughes left his position as Deputy Sheriff to serve in the United States Marine Corps as an air traffic controller. During tours in Tennessee, North Carolina, California, Japan and Australia, Hughes distinguished himself in many leadership roles at all levels of airport operation, management and international relations. Hughes received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for sustained superior performance, and attained the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. After receiving an honorable discharge, Hughes worked in the commercial aviation field for several years.
Feeling the need to serve others again, Hughes decided to pursue a new career and entered graduate school to study psychology. He provided in-home psychosocial rehabilitation and parent training to troubled youth and their families with Boys Town and later oversaw two- dozen group homes in Southern Nevada that serve nearly 70 intellectually disabled adults. He holds a Bachelors of Science degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a Master of Arts degree in counseling psychology from National University.
About Opportunity Village
Mission: Opportunity Village is a not-for-profit organization that serves people within our community with significant intellectual disabilities, to improve their lives and the lives of their families.
Seven families who were determined to give their children with disabilities the best lives possible founded Opportunity Village in 1954. Now, more than 60 years later, Opportunity Village is one of the most recognized and respected organizations of its type in the United States.
Nevada’s largest employer of people with disabilities, Opportunity Village serves nearly 2,000 individuals annually, providing vocational training, employment, habilitation and social recreation programs and services that make their lives more purposeful and interesting.
Opportunity Village citizens – individuals who were previously considered unemployable – work at Opportunity Village’s Employment Resource Centers and in jobs throughout the community, collectively earning wages amounting to more than $3.9 million in 2014. They are hard-working and diligent, proudly paying taxes and happily leading more fulfilling lives.
Primarily a self-funded organization, Opportunity Village generates the majority of its operational funding through its employment contracts and fundraising efforts such as the Magical Forest and Great Santa Run, saving Nevada taxpayers nearly $35 million annually.
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Media Contact:
James Woodrow
Preferred Public Relations
702.254.5704