Center for Nonprofit Leadership
Helping nonprofit leaders do better at doing good

Community Spotlight: Dan Parziale & Mesa Farm

Can you please share more about yourself and the mission of Mesa?

Mesa's vision is to end homelessness among young adults. Our mission statement is to cultivate possibility among young adults facing homelessness. After teaching in LA, working for the United Farm Workers, doing immigration work and working with a nonprofit doing international redevelopment work mostly in Haiti, I returned to Notre Dame to get my Masters in Nonprofit Administration. After this time, I dove all in on homeless services and began my work with LA Family Housing (LAFH). After 7 years with LAFH, I launched Mesa with my co-founder Kyle Thompson. Our goal was to move upstream from the outcomes of homelessness and incarceration to provide people with the opportunity to live the life they imagine for themselves. 

Who has made a strong impact on your life and has helped you to get you where you are today? 

 My mom is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner/Psych Nurse Practitioner/Doctor of Nursing Practice who has dedicated her life to working with young people who have experienced intense trauma. She approaches the work with love and enthusiasm. My dad was a public school teacher for his entire career, the majority of which was at Oxnard High School. They both instilled in me a sense of community, social justice, and living a purpose driven life. 

What are some recent highlights at Mesa? What events, milestones and steps are in the near future?

We welcomed our 13th young adult the day after Thanksgiving and now have a full house. Eight are now working and five are back in school. We've had some incredible opportunities for community engagement here, from an owl release with the Ojai Raptor Center, tree planting with Ojai Trees, and a native pollinator planting with the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, Growing Works, and the C.R.E.W.. 

We are beginning to bring in volunteers for cooking classes, art, life coaching, and gardening and are building out a mobile app with Code for Good to make it easier to engage with volunteers.

What about Mesa is special to you? What would you like our readers to know?

I believe that we have the resources in our community to allow for everyone to live a full, healthy life. When kids experience homelessness as children, it is very likely they will have a lifetime of instability. Mesa is stepping in at this critical juncture when kids are entering adulthood and have an opportunity to invest in themselves and build a community of support. I am excited about Mesa's opportunity to shift the way people think about homelessness, not as an intractable problem, but something that we can solve together. Mesa is on a beautiful farm in an incredible part of town in part because I believe it is a place where great healing can take place, where one's nervous system can get a break. It is also an inspiring space that can change how we think about how we respond to and prevent homelessness. 

Why did you think it was important to become a member of the CNL? What do you value most about your connection with CNL?

Ventura County is in an incredibly interesting place right now when it comes to homelessness. It is a big enough challenge that people are taking it seriously, there is the political will to do something about it, we have the resources to address the problem. We are also a county that other places pay attention to, so our work can have impact beyond our borders so to speak. We currently have less than 400 young adults experiencing homelessness in Ventura County. This is a manageable number and one that we still have plenty of options to address. If we allow these numbers to continue to grow, those options will diminish over time. CNL is helping to create an incredible community of nonprofits in Ventura County and to improve the leadership capacity of those organizations. I feel humbled by our community of support and believe that I have a lot to learn from my colleagues. CNL is a community resource that we are incredibly lucky to have here in Ventura County. 

How can the community support you? Where can they find you on social media?

Check out our website at www.mesafarm.org and sign up to volunteer. Follow us on Instagram at @mesa_farm. Reach out to us at hi@mesafarm.org to see about setting up a time to come visit us or invite us to speak at your place of work or any civic groups you are a part of!

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