For nearly seven years, Jake Vela has been behind the scenes helping people new to the community, but he’s looking forward to a new opportunity to help people in a more direct way.

Vela worked his last full day as executive director of the Welcome Center on Friday before he starts Monday as a success coach at Banfield Elementary School.

“I get a high level of satisfaction in helping people solve problems,” Vela said. “In this role, I’m not doing the front lines, and I kind of want to get back into that.”

Vela, 33, moved to Austin with his family in 1997 when he was 14, which he joked feels like a long time ago. He attended Riverland Community College and finished his schooling at Minnesota School of Business, earning a degree in graphic design.

He did freelance work and worked for ViDeyo Arts before the recession hit and the job at the Welcome Center opened up.

While he’s not using his degree, he sees himself using his background in the creative arts in finding creative solutions to problems at the center.

When Vela started at the Welcome Center in February of 2010, he knew he had a big job and needed to change the overall perception of the organization after there’d been a revolving door of directors.

He got together with donors, community stakeholders and others to begin discussing how to mend the relationships.

Now, Vela said he’s leaving the organization in a good place with much community support.

“We’re stable, we’re viable, people see the important work that we’re doing,” Vela said. “It hasn’t been easy. It’s been quite the journey, but we’re there.”

Vela calls leading the Welcome Center a big job and responsibility, and he said he’s ready to pass the torch.

“I feel I’ve brought the organization as far as I could, so now it’s time for some new vision, some new ideas and how to help us go to the next level,” Vela said.

A welcoming community

As Vela explains, the Welcome Center connects community newcomers to agencies and services around town. Immigrants, for example, will come in looking for safe and affordable housing, medical care, and where to send their children to school. They need help getting connected to groups like Mower County Health and Human Services or Austin Public Schools.

Then the center helps people get past barriers to finding employment, and it also receives funding to assist refugees living in the U.S. for more than five years. Welcome Center staffers are all MNsure navigators too.

The Welcome Center focuses on advocacy and client services for all people new to Austin — not just immigrants and minorities.

“All of our services are open to anyone in the community — anyone,” Vela said. “You don’t have to be a particular color to use services here.”

One misconception is that the Welcome Center is a Latino-only organization. In fact, the Asian community has made up the highest percentage of people helped for the last three years, as Austin continues to see an increase in the Karen/Karenni community.

In fiscal 2015, which spanned July 1, 2015, to June 20, 2016, the center helped 1,274 people of Asian descent, 1,190 people of Latino or Hispanic descent — a 35 percent increase, and 88 caucasians.

After learning through focus groups that many in the Karen/Karenni community target communities where they can get easily connected to services, the Welcome Center was able to get seed grant dollars through the Blandin Foundation to hire someone to target that community.

After starting with a part-time worker, the numbers increased enough for a full-time position and an additional person to help so the center now has two Karen staffers.

“Our community has been very welcoming, and that’s key,” Vela said.

Overall, numbers continue to increase. In fiscal 2015, the center helped 2,900 people, a 23 percent increase from fiscal 2014 with 369 new clients.

Vela also noted he’s seen a significant increase in the number of black and African community members utilizing the center, going from 83 to 395, and he hopes the new director will be able to better engage that sector of the community.

About 90 percent of the clients are at or below the 100 percent poverty level, and 90 percent also reported their issue was resolved after coming to the center. However, Vela notes they can’t help everyone, especially when it comes to things like immigration services since the Welcome Center staffers aren’t attorneys.

‘I want this place to continue to thrive’

Vela gives his staff credit for the success of the Welcome Center, noting they’re out doing much of the center’s work, while he’s working behind the scenes.

He commended the board for their great leadership and community support too. The Welcome Center has four total staffers for what Vela, with a laugh, calls a “small but mighty group.”

As an administrator, his primary role at the Welcome Center has been to ensure that programs are efficient and that the center is meeting its outcomes and goals.

But that’s one of the reason Vela is taking the position at Banfield Elementary School: He looks forward to being able to do more direct service with children and families.

“I’m excited to continue to impact the lives of our immigrant students and families,” Vela said. “So I’m really happy that I’m going to be able to do the more direct service with them, work more closely with them and kind of step away from the administrative role.”

As the center begins the search for a new director, Vela suggests he or she needs to be diplomatic, knowing people won’t always agree on issues moving forward, and needs to have a vibrant personality.

“The Welcome Center has been very good to me, and I’m going to miss it,” he said. “It’s just been a really fantastic organization to work for, and I’ve had a lot of personal growth and professional growth.”

Vela says he’s loved his work at the Welcome Center and he’s committed to the organization, so he’ll continue working from 3 to 5 p.m. to help with the transition to a new director.

“I want this place to continue to thrive and succeed,” he said.

New job, same goals

In his spare time, Vela recently took up biking, yoga and meditation, and he was approaching 750 miles in biking this year. With biking, he lost 42 pounds over 2016.

For 2017, he’s aiming to bike 1,000 miles. His favorite place to bike is Lanesboro.

He also enjoys gardening, being with friends and meeting new people. And he said he’s loved being able to meet people from all over the world through the Welcome Center and having the chance to learn about their stories.

“I love learning more about people and cultures,” Vela said. “But I know I’m going to have that same opportunity at Banfield. I’m excited.”