Big Red Barn Retreat announces the hiring of a new Executive Director
August 22, 2022
The Big Red Barn Retreat welcomes Colonel David Williams, US Army (Retired), as its new Executive Director. David recently retired after serving as an active-duty officer in the US Army for over 25 years. During his time in the United States Army, he served in a variety of positions in both operational and senior leadership positions. Additionally, he was deployed three times to Iraq for a total of 40 months, spent six months in Bosnia, and made numerous temporary duty trips to various locations throughout the Middle East. In his last deployment, he was the Senior Coalition Leader in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region with the Combined Joint Task Force supporting the mission for the final defeat of ISIS. He is a proud 1997 graduate of The Citadel and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a M.A in Human Resource Management from Webster University, and an M.A in Military Arts and Sciences from the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS).
“The Big Red Barn Retreat has grown so much over the past few years’ ‘ says Barbara Irons, the Big Red Barn Retreat Chairman of the Board. “We believe that Mr. Williams will bring both the firsthand understanding of the military culture along with the strategic vision needed to continue the growth and expansion of our flagship program, Warrior PATHH, as well as successfully launch our newest training program, Struggle Well, for active-duty service members and first responders.”
In his last position in the service, David was an assistant professor at the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) where he taught Strategy and Operational Planning at the Senior Service College level. David is a proud father of three children, and is happy to call Elgin, South Carolina home along with his wife Stacey of 24 years.
David stated “I was honored and excited to be selected for this executive director position at The Big Red Barn Retreat, and after going through Warrior PATHH myself and seeing the effectiveness of the program firsthand, now I am absolutely ecstatic and passionate about starting this new job serving my fellow veterans and our first responders.”
In his new role, Mr. Williams will report to the Board of Directors and be responsible for overseeing the development, implementation and evaluation of programs and services that support the mission of the Big Red Barn Retreat (BRBR). Plus, he will provide overall management and leadership to all BRBR initiatives and activities, including supervising all the staff, including volunteers, and providing oversight for contracted personnel, programs, services, and training.
About Big Red Barn Retreat
3Headquartered in Blythewood and operating in South Carolina for eight years, the Big Red Barn Retreat (BRBR) is a 501(c)(3) that provides Veterans, Active-Duty Service Members, and First responders who are struggling free non-clinical services, programs, and training, including the posttraumatic growth-based Warrior PATHH program. Established in 2014, the BRBR serves more than 2,500 military and first responders annually. All services provided at the BRBR are funded through corporate partnerships, grants and private nations. For more information, please visit www.thebigredbarnretreat.org or email [email protected]
