Simon Dwight hails from Bedford, England, and brings deep experience as a social innovator, with an ability to find solutions, unify teams, influence growth, and inspire change.
He began his career in homeless services as a case worker at King’s Arms Project, a homeless and refugee charity providing housing, support, and training, and then served as its CEO from 2012-2020.
“It is with tremendous excitement that we welcome Simon Dwight as the new Executive Director of Homeward Bound,” said Barbara Wright, Chair of Homeward Bound’s Board of Directors and a member of the Executive Director Search Committee. “The committee appointed by the board to identify a new leader conducted a deliberate, inclusive national search for an individual with the experience and strategic vision to guide Homeward Bound in the coming years, and we have found that in Simon.”
Dwight currently serves as Specialist Advisor to the UK government, where he advises on national and local homelessness and housing policy and delivery, including the Housing First model. He has a Master’s Degree in Social Innovation from the University of Cambridge, will soon complete a Doctorate in Non-Profit Leadership from Middlesex University, and was selected in 2019 to attend a Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management course at Harvard University.
“I look forward to contributing to the continued success and growth of Homeward Bound,” said Dwight, “I am honored to be chosen as Homeward Bound’s next Executive Director. Homeward Bound’s innovative approach to homelessness resonates deeply with my own beliefs and methods.”
Dwight will be joining Homeward Bound at a time of significant organizational growth. As Homeward Bound continues to work to prevent and end homelessness in our community through permanent housing and support. Using the Housing First model, the organization is committed to completing the Home is Key motel renovation initiative in 2023, which will move 85-90 of our most chronically unhoused neighbors into housing. Successful fundraising, the completion of construction, and moving residents into the building will be priorities in the coming year.
Derrick and his wife Faith, a North Carolina native, will be relocating with their two sons in the coming months.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Board Chair Barbara Wright at [email protected].