Ensights Magazine

Will Connelly

Alumni in Service: Will Connelly ’93

Nancy Keen Palmer-Gift ’03
“Ensworth instilled in me a curiosity of the world that I still have today. I want to know why things are the way they are. Teachers like Mr. Chanaca and Mr. Kautzman helped me develop this curiosity through their examples inside and outside of the classroom…their passion and curiosity were contagious.”
For the past fifteen years, Will Connelly ’93 has channeled that passion and curiosity into creating better ways to respond to homelessness. He led the Metro Homelessness Commission in Nashville for four years and helped co-found The Contributor, a street magazine sold by homeless and formerly homeless Nashvillians. Nashville Business Journal recognized him as one of the “Top 40 under 40” in 2014 for his leadership and positive impact on the community. Will currently serves as the Executive Director of the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative and resides in the Denver area with his wife, Eva, and two young children.

Metro Denver Homeless Initiative’s mission is to lead and advance collaboration to end homelessness in their region. Similar to Ensworth’s Core Skills (to collaborate, communicate, observe, question, speculate & hypothesize, and apply knowledge) the work of MDHI to bring people home is guided by their core values of inclusivity, collaboration, innovation, information, and boldness.

Collaboration is the keyword, as the issue of homelessness is complex, and solutions require a holistic approach. As Executive Director of MDHI, Will serves as the leader of one organization within a network of many. That network is known as the Denver Continuum of Care, a community of like-minded, compassionate individuals and organizations who, like Mr. Inman and Mr. Connelly, recognize that things in life “aren’t always black and orange.”

Find out more about Will’s work with the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative by visiting MDHI.org
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