Staff Spotlight

Meet William Dunn


	“It is a possibility that I may write a followup to this book after I see where the current book is headed."

William Dunn reaches out to the community in many ways. He is the facility director at Hillcrest Heights Community Center and Marlow Heights Community Center, but his work doesn’t stop there.

When Dunn, who goes by his last name only, is at work he makes sure people of all ages have recreational outlets and constructive things to do when they come to the community centers. When he leaves work he continues to do that, but focuses on youth involved in athletics. Dunn is the executive director of Lifting As We Climb, a non-profit organization, and White Oak Youth Sports Association, also a non-profit that serves and teaches young athletes to become students first. “I’m very fortunate to be a part of these groups because it gives me a chance to give back to the youth, something I didn’t get a lot of when I was younger,” says Dunn.

“Lifting As We Climb has something special going for it as we have a partnership with the National Football League. I direct one of the camps and speak at the camp, teaching the kids how to be better than what they’re exposed to. From this partnership I’ve been introduced to NFL players like Redskins player Antoine Randle El, who had me speak at his football camps. This is a great opportunity for me to reach young people and show them how to move in a positive direction,” says Dunn.

As a board member of the White Oak Youth Sports Association, Dunn oversees the baseball program and a flag football program for children ages 5-7. “Last year we had the most wins of any team. Also involved in these group activities are cheerleading teams, and last year our 10-16 year old team was a national champion…all these kids have great potential,” says Dunn. And if Dunn didn’t have enough to do last year, he also served as the Maryland commissioner for flag football. All of this is in addition to his job at the M-NCPPC community centers.

Before becoming a M-NCPPC community center director and getting involved in numerous non-profit groups, Dunn was in the U.S. Army. “I was in Iraq for a year and it really makes you think about things like home, family, what you have here, and what you can contribute when you get back,” says Dunn.

Dunn recently published a book, Broken Wings – Inspirational Words, based on his life story. “I’m considered self-published using authorHOUSE to put the book in production, and they do the marketing and distribution. I attended a book signing at Borders at Capital Boulevard and the book sold out. I also attended Capital Book Fest sponsored by M-NCPPC, and the book sold out again. As a result of the book signing and its popularity, the book will now be on the shelf with noted authors,” says Dunn.