Volunteers of America, Northern New England (VOANNE)

Since 1992, VOA has been “The Place to Turn” for Maine and New Hampshire’s most vulnerable individuals. As part of a national organization started in 1896, VOA continues to, in the words of its founders, “go wherever we are needed, and do whatever comes to hand.”

Richard Hooks Wayman is President and CEO of Volunteers of America - Northern New England, a nonprofit agency offering affordable housing, homeless services, residential treatment and community-based social services in Maine and New Hampshire. He has served in that position for almost 8 years. He arrived at VOANNE from the Children’s Defense Fund based in Washington, DC  where he served as National Executive Director. He also has served as CEO of LUK, Inc, a regional child welfare agency located in Fitchburg, MA that provides an array of child welfare, family support, and behavioral health services. Prior to LUK, he served as Executive Director of the Hearth Connection which seeks to break the cycle of homelessness. He began his career working in Policy Analysis and Public Policy focusing on unhoused youth in Washington, DC.

• I don’t know of anyone who has more knowledge about the issues of homeless youth than Richard. Beyond mere knowledge, his passion for ending the problem of homelessness for people of all ages is both boundless and infectious.
• Rick is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to statistics regarding the nation’s homeless youth population.