PIMA COUNTY, Nov. 30, 2020 -- Daniel Sullivan, who has more than 10 years of senior leadership experience in workforce development and homeless services, has been chosen as the director of Pima County’s Department of Community & Workforce Development (CWD).
Sullivan, who joined the County in 2016, has been serving as a community services manager for CWD, overseeing daily operations for the Homeless Services and Workforce divisions, including the One-Stop Centers, the Dislocated Worker program, the Kino Veterans’ Center and the Sullivan Jackson Employment Center.
Sullivan, 35, replaces Arnold Palacios, who retired Sept. 30. Nils Urman, the program manager for CWD’s Business Services, has served as interim director.
“It’s an honor to be serving in this role,” Sullivan said of being named director. “It’s an immense, wonderful responsibility to lead this department and all the vital and important work it does in the community.”
Sullivan, a University of Arizona graduate, has helped guide CWD through the COVID-19 pandemic while the department provides critical resources and assistance regarding employment, housing, emergency shelter and more.
“The pandemic has been a challenge but it has also forced us to rapidly evolve and look at how we deliver services in a way that’s meaningful and urgent and client-centric,” Sullivan said. “The work that we have done during the pandemic has set the stage for the future. We’re going to keep that pace and that innovation.”
Sullivan is steeped in community services work. The Sullivan Jackson Employment Center, which assists homeless individuals and families seeking to become self-sufficient, bears his last name. The name Sullivan was added to the center in 2010 to honor his father, longtime homeless advocate Paul Sullivan.
“This is in my blood,” Sullivan said. “The Sullivan family has always gravitated toward work that improves lives of others and improves the community.”
Pima County received 115 applications for the position of director of CWD, a department that was created July 1 with the merger of the county’s two major community service departments – Community Services Employment and Training (CSET) and Community Development and Neighborhood Conservation (CDNC).
A five-person selection committee interviewed eight candidates, after which it recommended to County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry that Sullivan be selected as director. A second round of interviews with the top three candidates produced the same recommendation.
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