Hi there. I’m Andy Duran. And you’ve found my little blog. If you are looking for more information about me, then you came to the right place.
Have a look through the site itself for more information about who I am and what I can do for you and your organization, school, or community. Or, if you prefer, take a look at the cheatsheet below.
What I can do for you.
I can help you and your organization switch chairs.
I can help you and your organization build an effective, robust strategy that can address the health of your community.
I can help you and your organization wade through the myriad tools and technology necessary to best achieve your goals, cutting away the excess and focusing on the right instruments for the right jobs.
Who is Andy Duran?
I have been the chief executive of LEAD since May 2012. In the past 9 years, I’ve taken our 501c(3) non-profit from a small community organization into a Nationally recognized prevention organization that offers programs and services all over the country.
One of my biggest accomplishments is the development of TextForHelp.app, a 24/7 crisis text line that is now available to more than 10 million people. I speak hundreds of times per year in schools, churches and communities across the United States about the challenges of substance misuse prevention and teen mental health.
I was recently elected to the Lake Bluff School District 65 Board of Education, where I’m currently serving my first term.
In 2004, my wife Lisa and I founded Camp Hope, a residential summer camp for children with disabilities in the Chicago area.
Prior to my time at LEAD, I served as the Executive Director of the Peacebuilders Initiative on the Southside of Chicago, and as Executive Director of the Ministry for Persons with Disabilities for Catholic Charities in Florida, where I ran a summer camp for children and teens with disabilities.
Lisa and I live in Lake Bluff, IL with our 2 young daughters, a golden retriever, a kinkalow cat and 2 guinea pigs.
I recently installed a ping pong table in the basement and a small ice rink in the backyard.
I enjoy challenges, be they intellectual or physical, spending time with my family, helping others through difficult moments, and the occasional Wild Cherry Pepsi.
I am not on Facebook.
