Hannah Dugan Named IndependenceFirst’s First Chief Operating Officer

FEBRUARY 10, 2014 – Milwaukee, WI IndependenceFirst proudly announces that Hannah Dugan has been selected as the nonprofit’s first Chief Operating Officer (COO). The advocacy organization has enjoyed tremendous growth in complexity and size in the past ten years including the addition of two retail Mobility Stores and the relocation of the headquarters to an award-winning facility at 540 South First Street in Milwaukee under the leadership of Lee Schulz, the organization’s current President and CEO. Mr. Schulz states, “The addition of a COO and the appointment of Ms. Dugan to this role will provide an opportunity to focus on a more in-depth approach to many of our strategies and initiatives. She brings a background that is aligned with our organization’s mission and the skill set to lead our operations into the future.” IndependenceFirst retained Spano Pratt Executive Search for the recruitment process, as well as assisting the organization’s management and Board of Directors to complete an extensive search process before making their selection.

Ms. Dugan holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and throughout her career has demonstrated servant leadership. She is well-respected for her litigation and administrative work providing multi-county legal program oversight and access for consumers with disabilities and older adults seeking benefits to gain independent living while at Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee and Legal Action of Wisconsin among others. She has led organizations including Catholic Charities and comes to IndependenceFirst with over twenty years of administrative leadership experience, serving a wide variety of nonprofit organizations. She is an active member in the Milwaukee community, currently serving as a board member of the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee and Treasurer of the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission among other volunteer leadership roles through the years.

Ms. Dugan began her position with IndependenceFirst in the First week in February.

About IndependenceFirst: Since 1979 IndependenceFirst has served as Metro Milwaukee’s primary nonprofit resource on access and independent living for people with disabilities of all ages and kinds. In 2012, the IndependenceFirst Mobility Store was added to its 20+ service offerings with stores in Metro Milwaukee and Madison providing quality refurbished and new medical devices at affordable prices to assist people with disabilities to get the equipment they need at prices they can afford, to live independently. See www.independencefirst.org and www.ifmobility.org for more information.
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