Semcac Welcomes New Executive Director, Owatonna People’s Press

STEELE — On July 1, 2019, Semcac is pleased to welcome a new Executive Director, Doug Grout, to the Semcac family. Doug has dedicated his career to helping people. He has experience working with low-income households, people with disabilities, seniors, immigrants and minorities. Throughout his career, he has had the opportunity to learn and employ techniques in team building and management.

Doug has a strong background of over 25 years’ experience working in the public and nonprofit sector. This includes significant experience administering successful affordable housing, redevelopment and rehabilitation loan projects. For the past six years, Doug has served as the Administrator for the Housing & Redevelopment Authority (HRA) for the City of Bloomington, Minnesota. Prior to that, he worked as the Executive Director for the Brainerd HRA, as well as at the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. Additionally, Doug is very familiar with Semcac, he previously worked for the agency as the Housing Services Director and is excited to rejoin the Semcac team.

Doug also serves on the Board of Directors for a nonprofit organization that provides services to homeless and at-risk youth. “Listening to, working with and advocating for consumers is paramount to achieving an organization’s mission,” he says.

Doug has a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Northern Iowa. He has certification as a National Development Council Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) and as a National Development Council Housing Development Finance Professional (HDFP).

Doug and his wife are residents of Brownsville, Minnesota. Therefore, he is happy this leadership opportunity is located in the southeastern part of the state. Semcac serves the seven Minnesota counties of Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower, Steele and Winona, and provides limited services in the counties of Olmsted, Goodhue, Rice, Wabasha and Waseca.

“I enjoyed my tenure at Semcac, and learned firsthand about the importance of Community Action,” Doug states. Semcac is a nonprofit, Community Action organization founded in 1966. Semcac’s mission is to empower and advocate for people to enhance their self-sufficiency by maximizing community resources.

Semcac operates programs within the departments of Head Start, Senior Services, Outreach & Emergency Services, Community Development, Family Planning and Transportation. Visit www.semcac.org for more information. Follow @Semcac on social media.