Brett Hartford, Executive Director
Brett has spent his life working in non-profit organizations, with a strong focus on making friends out of strangers and resources tangible and accessible.
Born and raised in Lawrence, KS, Brett went from a Bible college to working in the projects of Orlando, Florida, to a multi-site church in New Jersey. Brett spent 10 years at City Relief, an organization serving people experiencing homelessness in the New York City Metro area. In his time there, he gained ground-level experience working face-to-face with guests to learn their needs and provide direct services. In addition to Director of Outreaches and Director of Operations roles, he worked on the development team as Director of Partnerships, fundraising and speaking across the country on the subject of homelessness and poverty.
For 15 years, Brett has also served in the New Jersey National Guard, where he is a musician and plays low brass in the 63rd Army Band.
Brett has been married for 16 years to his childhood best friend, Renee, and together they have two daughters, Selah and Talita.
Brett loves finding adventures with his family, running, eating good food, and chopping wood.
Victoria Brown
Director of Operations
Victoria has spent most of her working life in the service industry - prioritizing the needs of the people she is serving and the people she is leading, while building systems and structures to support continued growth and planning for future needs.
Born in the Azore Islands off the coast of Portugal, Victoria spent her childhood moving frequently. Victoria spent many years doing community outreach and service alongside her parents, who worked in law enforcement and pastored a small, neighborhood church. It was during these years that she discovered her love of community and heart for service. Her late mother had one philosophy: leave people better than you found them, and Victoria is intentional in weaving that into the fabric of her everyday life.
Victoria has spent the last 19 years working her way up to a corporate leadership position. As a business leader, she was successful in building foundations needed for continued organizational growth, always keeping sight of what mattered most; the people she served. When the opportunity arose to use her experiences as a business leader and focus them on her passion for community care and relationship building as the Director of Operations at HRC, she knew immediately that it was the right fit.
Victoria has been married to her best friend since high school, Nick, for ten years and together they have two children, Oliver and Charlie.
Victoria loves traveling, cooking with her husband and spending time with her friends and family in Lawrence.