Seedling Mentor Program
Dec 09, 2021
Dan Leal
Seedling Mentor Program

Dan became Seedling’s Executive Director in August 2017 and has 19 years of nonprofit management experience.  Dan helped the Board of Directors to develop a strategic plan that will continue to grow the number of mentored children impacted by parental incarceration and to increase the depth of services and resources for children of incarcerated parents. In 2020, Dan served as Chair of One Voice Central Texas, a membership organization of over 100 non-profit executives and organizations, that seeks to support Executive Directors and increase local resources for non-profit health and human services non-profits.

Dan served as the Executive Director of the Children’s Advocacy Center in Denton County for 15 years. Dan led an organization of 29 staff members and 37 partner agencies to provide justice, safety, and healing for abused children. Dan collaborated with Jenna Quinn and State Representative Tan Parker on the passing of Jenna’s Law, which served as the catalyst for Children’s Advocacy Centers in Texas to add education to their service delivery and became a federal law in 2020.

Prior to joining the Advocacy Center, Dan served as the Human Services Coordinator for the City of Denton and was named Public Health Advocate of the Year by the Denton County Health Department. He has also been honored by the Denton County Alliance for the mentally ill and been a recipient of the David Fitch Humanitarian Award from the University of North Texas.

Dan and his wife Kirstin have two adult sons.  Dan’s youngest son serves in the United States Air Force. Dan enjoys sports and broadcasted high school sports on the radio for 20 years.  Dan and his wife Kirstin are both proud to serve as Seedling mentors.