Dave Hardesty

Dave has held various leadership roles including his most recent position with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety where he served as the Director of Facility Operations in the Juvenile Justice Division. Dave was responsible for the operations of four youth development centers serving 330 youth and 6 juvenile detention centers with a capacity of 130 youth. In this effort, he supervised over 650 employees and managed operating budgets in excess of $50M. Dave was successful in instilling accountability, systems improvement and a focus on “doing right by kids” throughout the juvenile division in the most secure residential settings. Additionally, Dave led the development and implementation of a web-based incident reporting and tracking system and quality assurance standards for the youth development and detention centers. Dave also served on the Governor’s Crime Commission and Juvenile Justice Planning Committee for the past three years.

Dave’s 30 plus years of experience with both secure and non secure residential programs as well as community based services make him a great addition to the Growth and Transformation team. His operational and administrative knowledge ensure that Eckerd Connects achieves its vision of providing every child with the opportunity to succeed.