Jordan Dunn: At Pathways, he helps heal people by believing they have value

The clinical director for Pathways Behavioral Services has been employed with the nonprofit for 13 years. He oversees the mental health and substance abuse patients in Black Hawk and Buchanan counties.

The 35-year-old is just one of 20 area residents recognized this year on The Courier’s 20 Under 40 list.

“I’m very honored by the nominations,” Dunn said. “I’m very fortunate to be involved in many communities which come together in different ways. I’ve been able to enjoy and love living in the Cedar Valley.

“Because of the size of the community, I’m always able to meet new people and also know a lot of people to make connections.” He noted he enjoys working “in the nonprofit area and the people I get to interact with, people with great hearts.”

In nominating Dunn for 20 Under 40 honors, Lindsay Stack said he “deserves to be recognized for what he so freely and naturally gives to others – he’s a true ‘angel’ in his own right.”

Dunn grew up in Des Moines and graduated from Newton High School. The eldest of three children, he has a brother four years younger and a sister 16 years younger. “These are really important relationships in my life,” he said.

His “path” to Pathways wasn’t direct, but his experiences growing up relate in many ways. He worked in child care at the YMCA in Newton during high school and in Waterloo while attending the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

“I enjoy working with young people,” Dunn noted. “It’s cool to see those moments when something sparks with them. Kids generally have a positive, open mind.”

He originally planned on majoring in education and teaching high school English and Spanish. Because of his experiences working in child care, he decided to switch to social work.

He responded to an ad in UNI’s campus paper, the Northern Iowan, for a third shift, every other weekend technician in Pathway’s residential program while an undergraduate. The opportunity became a long-term career move. He was switched to second shift, graduated from UNI in 2010, became an outpatient counselor, got his master’s degree in social work from UNI, became a residential counselor, was a Black Hawk County Adult Drug Court counselor and coordinated Pathways’ downtown office for six years.

He returned to the University Avenue office as clinical director just under a year ago.

“I really fell in love with addictions treatment, this population, this kind of work,” Dunn said.

“There is some overlap in teaching and working with people,” he explained. “It’s the power of language. Those paths that I didn’t go down, like teaching, I am still able to do a lot of that in my life today.”

Those teaching opportunities include presentations at Pathways, teaching a foster parenting class at Four Oaks and teaching a social work class at UNI.

Dunn is a parent at home. He and his husband have adopted four boys through foster care, ages 17, 14, 10 and 9. The eldest two came to the couple when they were 5 and 8.

Dunn loves working at Pathways. “It’s a place of support and longevity. I’m not alone in being here a long time. I have been given permission to try a lot of things. Pathways is encouraging of that.

“There is a shift in substance abuse treatment related to holistic care, in trying to have more services under one roof and not forcing people to go to different places across the county.

“We have a one-door policy here. So if someone comes in, regardless of the reason, we can connect them to whatever services are needed. If it’s something we don’t do, we work with community partners,” he said.

“Another cool shift in this field is moving more toward our clients – people don’t get better because we’re saying ‘don’t do that.’ Most of us make positive moves in our lives when we feel supported and believed in. That is something I want to keep building on. People heal if they believe they have value.”

Jackie Preston wrote in her nomination letter that “Jordan has consistently demonstrated the ability to develop and implement new strategies, take on increasing responsibilities and focus on client and community empowerment.”

Dunn supports other community agencies, including the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Cedar Valley Hospice and the United Way. He volunteers as a board member for Cedar Valley Angels, which helps families experiencing foster care.

“I look forward to teaching at UNI and take a lot of pride in it and the 33 hours of pre-service training related to parenting kids with a trauma background,” he said, referencing some of work as an instructor. “Decades ago, the wisdom was kids need a stern hand or a lot of structure. We know from research that kids really need to feel safe and supported.”

He and his family love being outdoors, biking, camping, sitting around the fire pit. They are a board-game family. They have lots of friends who have children of the same ages. The boys play baseball, so there is a lot of game watching and trips back and forth from practice.

Stack noted “Jordan’s uplifting and caring personality, and his desire to help others in any way he can,” in her nomination. “His family, colleagues and clients appreciate his calming demeanor and fun presence. Jordan is hard working and will continue to do great things for our community for many years to come.”