John N. Nunley Joins A Safe Haven as Chief Operating Officer

John N. Nunley, A Veteran Leader At Illinois Department of Corrections Joins A Safe Haven as Chief Operating Officer

John Nunley

Chicago, IL (January 11, 2018)—A Safe Haven today announced that John N. Nunley has joined the organization as its new Chief Operating Officer, reporting to the president and co-founder, Neli Vazquez Rowland.

“John is a seasoned and trusted leader who brings over 26 years’ experience with  Illinois Department of Corrections where he has a demonstrated record of delivering measurable, cost-effective results and has extensive experience in Corrections, Addiction Recovery Management, Substance Abuse Treatment for special populations, Clinical Supervision, Psychopharmacology, Medical and Mental Health, Workforce Development, Adult Education and related Behavioral Health services.  He is uniquely qualified to help drive strategic prioritization, accountability and scalability within A Safe Haven, with a laser focus on operational excellence,” said Neli Vazquez Rowland, president and co-founder.  “At A Safe Haven we have had over two decades of experience in working with John in our role as a top provider and vendor to the State of Illinois, serving and meeting the needs of returning citizens helping them get their lives back on track in the community after they have paid their debt to society at IDOC.  I have tremendous confidence in John’s ability to provide the leadership, management and ability necessary to ensure that A Safe Haven has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, and people systems in place to effectively assist in our growth to ensure financial strength and operating efficiency to allow us to improve our service delivery systems and outcomes to those we serve and our funders, alike. “

Effective immediately, John will assume responsibility for the agency’s day to day operations of all human service initiatives.

A Safe Haven Foundations continues on its current path to strengthen their leadership team, focus, grow and solidify partnerships and funding streams, and to expand its footprint in Illinois and in Indiana in an effort to meet the urgent growing demand for multi-dimensional services, including treatment, work force development and affordable housing services to meet and solve the costly issues resulting from the opioid epidemic, homelessness, criminal justice involved populations and more. A Safe Haven serves as an industry benchmark and is lauded as one of the most established, innovative and comprehensive models representing the emerging field of the behavioral healthcare continuum of care.

“I am thankful for the opportunity A Safe Haven Foundation has given me to work with such an amazing organization.  The passion the leadership and staff have for the people we serve is contagious.  I will work hard to improve and expand the already quality services A Safe Haven Foundation provides,” said John N. Nunley.

Prior to joining A Safe Haven Foundation, Mr. Nunley served for over 26 years with the Illinois Department of Corrections. During the last 14 years Mr. Nunley held multiple senior roles with Illinois Department of Corrections where he was responsible for monitoring contracts for over 3,500 substance abuse treatment beds; managed and supervised over 350 staff; responsible for Continuous Quality Improvement for all statewide substance abuse treatment programs; oversaw securing general revenue and grant funding for treatment programs; trained statewide staff to become CADC Certified and was a Senior Advisor for many statewide program initiatives.  He was a core member of the Sheridan Correctional Center National Model Substance Abuse Treatment development team; and responsible for the areas of safety and security of staff and offenders, food services, engineering and the Bureau of Identification.

A Desert Storm Military Army Veteran, Nunley was awarded the Southwest Asia Service Media, Kuwait Liberation Medal, Army Achievement Medal and served in the Illinois Army National Guard.  Additionally, he was an active member on the Hazelden/Betty Ford Foundation Behavioral Health Product Advisory Group Committee, Illinois DASA Women’s Committee on Alcoholism and Other Drug Advisory Council and Illinois Opioid Response Advisory Council.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Eastern Illinois University and is CADC Certified.