Denise Durel | Source | PRESIDENT AND CEO at United Way of Southwest Louisiana
Denise Durel
Denise Durel began her experience in the non-profit arena as a volunteer working with various agencies trying to better the community of Broussard where she was a working mom busy raising her family. Little did she know that her involvement with the Muscular Dystrophy Association would lead to a 20-year professional career with that organization.
Starting as a Program Coordinator handling special events in outlying parishes, including the creation of the CITGO MDA golf classic in Lake Charles, she then became the District Director overseeing the 15 parishes that make up Southwest Louisiana. After the success of achieving the #1 Director position in the country, she was named the Director of the Greater Cincinnati area. While in Cincinnati she went on to manage a region for MDA that included 8 different district areas within 4 states. After 20 years with MDA, she was named the Development Director for United Cerebral Palsy and was introduced to the United Way system.
In 2009 she relocated to Lake Charles to accept the position of President and CEO of United Way of Southwest Louisiana, a position that she continues to hold today.
In 2020, Durel led United Way of Southwest Louisiana through the pandemic, Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Delta, a winter freeze and flooding. All four were declared federal emergencies and left over 50% of the community's homes damaged. Durel is often called upon by national and international journalists to discuss the effects of disaster on low to moderate income families and individuals struggling to survive even before natural disasters strike.
Marketing and communications at United Way of Southwest Louisiana can provide footage of Denise Durel from Swedish Public TV, Good Morning America, Fox News and many other visitors as well as print media.
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https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-tornado-rolling-fork-silver-city-a61f1ee709ad81568d9ef410315d817a
Denise Durel heads United Way of Southwest Louisiana, where residents are still recovering from hurricanes Laura and Delta that struck in 2020. The organization has been helping people rebuild damaged homes, and some were uninsured or had too little coverage.
“Just drive through town,” she said. “Blue tarps are still there. The houses are in worse shape.”
Louisiana has finally received a large infusion of federal money to help those still struggling from the two 2020 hurricanes. Durel said if people didn’t register with FEMA soon after the storms, they can’t qualify for this new money. She said the application process is difficult and requires internet access, but many families were focused on gutting their homes and might not have known about registration or understood its importance.
“The people in Mississippi have to understand loud and clear: Somehow you have to find a way to get those people registered with FEMA,” Durel said.
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Denise Durel quote in NY Times
“Our story has just gotten very quickly put aside, and I really think the devastation is so huge we should remain on the front page,” said Denise Durel, the president and chief executive of the United Way of Southwest Louisiana. “The magnitude of our destruction is so huge we cannot come back as a community on our own. We cannot restore our homes on our own. We need the help of the American public, if we can get it.”
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Denise Durel quote from LA Times
Denise Durel heads United Way of Southwest Louisiana, where residents are still recovering from hurricanes Laura and Delta that struck in 2020. The organization has been helping people rebuild damaged homes, and some were uninsured or had too little coverage. “Just drive through town,” she said. “Blue tarps are still there. The houses are in worse shape.” Louisiana has finally received a large infusion of federal money to help those still struggling from the two 2020 hurricanes. Durel said if people didn’t register with FEMA soon after the storms, they can’t qualify for this new money. She said the application process is difficult and requires internet access, but many families were focused on gutting their homes and might not have known about registration or understood its importance. “The people in Mississippi have to understand loud and clear: Somehow you have to find a way to get those people registered with FEMA,” Durel said.
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United Way of Southwest Louisiana
PRESIDENT AND CEO
started Jan 2009