Disability services provider REACH Inc. selected a new executive director Monday. The 250-employee agency offered the job to local man Dan Elstad, a 30-year veteran of the company and its interim executive director. Elstad will officially helm REACH starting this week.
He succeeds Millie Ryan, who retired in April.
“My goal moving forward is to make REACH the employer of choice for the community of Juneau and making it the provider of choice,” Elstad told the Empire in a Tuesday phone interview.
A former commercial fisherman, Elstad has worked mostly in employment services at the nonprofit agency. A big part of REACH’s mission, he said, is to support people living with developmental disabilities in finding and securing employment. About 45 REACH clients work in the Juneau community currently, Elstad said, and the agency also runs a custodial service, which cleans the Juneau Federal Building, the governor’s office and several other local facilities.
A changing fiscal environment surrounding medicaid funding and funds coming from the State of Alaska has challenged REACH recently, Elstad said, and he hopes to lead the company to a better fiscal position. REACH Inc. is one of the largest service providers for children, adults, and families experiencing developmental delays or disabilities in northern Southeast.
