April 26, 2017
Adam Hauser’s fierce passion for helping the homebound was triggered by a single tray of food three decades ago.
Hauser, a young attorney at the time, signed up to be a Meals on Wheels volunteer a few years after graduating from the University of Texas School of Law. “I was hooked as soon as I handed a meal to that first client. I immediately grasped the beauty and importance of the mission - to help older adults and people with disabilities maintain their independence with dignity,” he recalls.
Five-thousand meals and 29 years later, Hauser still takes time every Friday to deliver hot food and warm smiles to the homebound people we are honored to serve. But these days, he’s both a volunteer and President & CEO of Meals on Wheels Central Texas.
The MOWCTX Board of Directors named Hauser to replace Dan Pruett, who retired March 31, 2017 after 14 years at the helm of the agency. Hauser was well known to the board, having spent 17 years on the governing body, including two years (2006-2008) as Board Chair. In fact, he was on the search committee that hired Pruett as President & CEO in 2003.
Hauser has extensive experience in leading successful teams. He was Managing Partner at Brown McCarroll, a local law firm, and later was the Office Managing Partner at the Austin office of Husch Blackwell LLP, a national legal firm, after its merger with Brown McCarroll. His predecessor, Pruett, believes that strong work history combined with Hauser’s unyielding devotion to the MOWCTX mission makes him the perfect person to head the agency. “Adam has a mind for business and a heart for helping those in need. He knows what it takes to empower people to perform their jobs in ways that not only assist and inspire the client, but also the people doing the work,” Pruett says.
Hauser credits Pruett for dramatically increasing both the number of life-sustaining services MOWCTX provides, as well as the number of homebound people it serves. “Under Dan’s wise leadership, this agency grew and further expanded programs designed to enrich the lives of the people we serve. We’re definitely going to keep that momentum going,” Hauser says.
He envisions MOWCTX as a “one-stop shop” for low-income, homebound Central Texans - an agency that can quickly assess the needs of people seeking its services and then rapidly address those needs in a holistic manner. “We already help our clients with a wide array of services such as home-delivered meals, home repair, in-home personal care, specialized care for Veterans, respite care for people suffering from memory loss, and pet food and basic veterinary care for our clients’ beloved pets - and that’s just a portion of the programs we already offer. But we’re also ramping up programs designed to connect older adults with technology as well as telehealth treatment for depression,” says Hauser. “We will continue to explore new, innovative and cost-effective ways to serve our most vulnerable neighbors, allow them to age safely in their own homes with dignity, AND save taxpayers money in the process,” he adds.
Nearly three decades after delivering that pivotal plate of food, Adam Hauser relishes the road ahead: “I look forward to working with and learning from MOWCTX’s amazing staff, committed board of directors, dedicated volunteers, and generous donors and partners. I love this organization, its people, its mission, and I’m deeply honored and humbled to serve as its leader.”