QUINN: So I am so excited to introduce our first speaker. And I actually found out last night that him and I are sort of neighbors– a hop, skip, and a jump. I hail from St. Michael, and he hails from a cabin in Rogers, is what I’ve heard. So I’m excited to introduce him, Representative Danny Nadeau.
DANNY NADEAU: Thank you. Yes, I do. I built a cabin. That’s what I live in. I raised my kids there.
I live on a small little island in the middle of a type 5 wetland. And it’s very different from St. Paul, I assure you. It’s quiet, and there’s a lot of solitude, and there’s been a lot of discussions that have happened out there. So hopefully, I’ll run into you somewhere out in the district.
QUINN: Hopefully, we will.
DANNY NADEAU: Yeah. I represent Northwest Hennepin– Rogers, Dayton, and Champlin. And I’m just starting my second term. So I don’t know anything hardly. I served the– last session, it was very interesting. I learned a lot.
I work for Hennepin County. I negotiate contracts primarily for disabled kids and adults. I do school-based mental health work. I do some criminal justice, juvenile diversion work. And so that’s the world that I live in. I was chief of staff to a county commissioner for a number of years.
But I want to thank you all for being here. I have spent the last, probably, four, five years working alongside you in this industry. And it’s amazing the commitment, the passion that people have to try to make the world a better place, focusing on that very person-centered approach. And I’m honored to be able to work on it from a legislative side.
When we talk about person-centered, one on one, or between people, between providers and participants. And then when we try to have that discussion at a legislative level, we lose things. And it’s a challenge because at the legislative level, we’re talking about money a lot of the times. We’re talking about aligning licensures a lot of the time and the challenges that a facility may be licensed under the Department of Health but the services are licensed under the Department of Human Services. And how do we align those things to make sure that we’re not creating more barriers to people living with disabilities?
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
DANNY NADEAU: I enjoy working on those things. And I also have learned that legislators know a lot less than we should. So that’s my focus this year, is to try to listen more, lecture less. And that’s why I’m here. And that’s why I’m delighted to be here as long as I can, to hear directly from you guys, to find out how we can do our job better because I think that’s what it’s going to take.
It seems like our services and our agencies and providers and you, our expectations are changing. We’re moving at lightning speed. And we want to make sure that we’re responsive and respectful and that we’re providing all those levels of service that we possibly can.
So I want to thank you for being here. I want to thank all of you for educating me. I’m looking forward to some of my colleagues and learning from them as well today. So if you have ideas, thoughts, please reach out. I would love to listen and meet you. So thank you so much.
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