Meet Dallas Blaney | Executive Director of Challenge America

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dallas Blaney and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dallas, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
Mine is not a quote as much as it’s a concept. Artistotle had this idea about the Doctrine of the Mean. While I’m sure others find different meanings in this concept, what I took from Aristotle is that you can only truly determine if someone lived a virtuous life when you look back on that life in its totality. Most of us do our best to respond appropriately to every situation we encounter, but we all fall short from time to time.

To me, the Doctrine of the Mean reminds me to weigh a momentary interaction with the folks in my life against the totality of their behavior over the history of our relationship. This concept helps me avoid moments when I might otherwise inflame situations and has allowed me to retain valuable relationships with friends and colleagues that might otherwise fall apart. I don’t always succeed in applying the Doctrine of the Mean – I fall short sometimes too – but I do my best.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
In all honesty, there isn’t anything remarkable about me per se. Perhaps the most notable thing about my professional experience is the great fortune I have in surrounding myself with truly extraordinary people. It took a great deal of support to reach this point from a large number of big-hearted and selfless folks who I had the great fortune to work alongside.

The organization I work for is a national nonprofit that serves Veterans and their families. We take great pride in developing innovative approaches in advancing our mission, from our incubator program that develops products that address the unmet needs of disabled Veterans, to our music therapy retreats that serve Veterans with post-traumatic stress, to our national peer-support network for women Veterans. I am most proud, however, of our most recent initiative, which is our national Veteran Arts Community. This initiative has quickly developed into a national hub for Veteran arts and artists. It’s a space where Veteran artists can make new connections, learn new skills, and discover resources that inspire them to continue their journey of creativity and healing.

So if there was one thing I would want the world to know about our organization, it is that we are a small group of overachievers who are dedicated to out-of-the-box approaches that truly transform the lives of Veterans and their families and deliver an impact on a national scale

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Okay, if I were to play tour guide for a friend from out of state, here is the itinerary I would lay out. As a caveat, this is a summertime travel guide, which is my favorite season. I would start off by hiking the four-pass loop in two days. It can be a grueling hike but it’s amazing. Leaving the Maroon Bells, we would stop in Aspen for a sandwich at The Grateful Deli before driving over Independence Pass. For day three, we would start in the morning by rafting The Numbers section of the Arkansas River, starting in Granite and taking out at Railroad Bridge, which should leave just enough time for a mountain bike ride on the Monarch Crest Trail. For dinner, we would stop by Salida for some pizza at Amicas before driving over to camp outside of Westcliff. For day four we would take it easy and drive down to visit Bishop’s Castle before driving around to Alamosa for a cup of coffee at Milagro’s Coffee Shop. After a short visit to the Colorado Gators Reptile Park, we would camp out at the Great Sand Dunes National Monument. For day five, we would drive over to Creede to explore the old mines and grab some lunch at Kip’s before pushing on for a relaxing bike ride in Turkey Springs and a well-deserved soak in Pagosa before camping somewhere near Wolf Creek Pass. For day six, we would drive to Durango for a breakfast croissant at Jean Pierre’s before heading for a full day of hiking near Molas Pass. For day seven, we would grab a coffee at the Coffee Bear in Silverton and drive over to Ridgeway for a late breakfast at True Grit before pushing on to the Montrose and the Black Canyon to cap off the trip with a quick decent down the S.O.B. trail for some late-day fishing before hiking out in time to grab some fresh fruit at The Orchard in Paonia and driving over McLure Pass, back into Carbondale.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The older I get, the more people I need to thank for their help along my journey. Family and teachers are a given in the shoutout category, but a few others truly stand out. I would certainly not be who I am today without Dean Heisey. Dean was my boss at a dead-end marina job on Lake Erie and it was Dean who inspired me to load up my meager possessions and move out west. I also owe a shoutout to Dave and Kim Burch. Dave and Kim hired me as rafting guide shortly after I moved to Colorado and that opportunity instilled a lifelong passion for the outdoors and running rivers that transformed my life for the better. Of course, I owe a shoutout to my wife, who, among other things, encouraged me to go back to school and stuck by me all those long years as I worked toward my doctorate.

The shoutout I reserve for my current profession belongs to my friend and mentor, Houston Cowan (yes, he is also named after a city in Texas). It was Houston who inspired me to pursue a career in the nonprofit world and taught me how to navigate the ups and downs of this industry with patience and grace. I can’t claim that I always rise to his standard, but his example certainly guides me as I tackle the day-to-day challenges of this crazy and often rewarding job.

Website: dallas@challengeamerica.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/challengeamerica/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dallasblaneyphd/

Image Credits
Dallas Blaney