Leadership Team
John C. Brauer, M.A.
For over 30 years, John Brauer has been assisting individuals with disabilities and other special needs establish or re-establish their place in the world.
Utilizing a complex and diverse set of programs and services, challenges can be met and real change can implemented both individually and systematically. Throughout John’s nonprofit career he has worked to expand both the scope and breadth of services offered for individuals with special needs, helping them to find a significant place in the community.
A serial entrepreneur, John has developed and operated over ten social enterprises, including nonprofit owned and operated businesses, including three cafes, two janitorial & landscaping enterprises, a clerical training and placement unit, a grocery training division, and a full production division which provided employment for hundreds of individuals on a daily basis.
Before joining New Horizons in 2018, John was the CEO of Union Station Homeless Services located in Pasadena, CA. Prior to that, John was the CEO of NW Works, a non-profit agency that provides employment, training and support services to individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment. In 2015, John launched a full-service café and bakery, the Firefly Café & Bakery, a full-service restaurant which trained individuals with special needs in all aspects of the food service industry. This endeavor was highly successful, and hundreds of clients graduated from the program and went on to work in the community, and the café itself was profitable after six months of operation.
Prior to his work in the non-profit sector, John owned and ran two for-profit companies, Chalma Corporation, a construction company, and NFC Dental Lab. John is the past president of the Kiwanis Club of Winchester, and the past Chairman of the Board for the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber. In addition, John is an adjunct professor for Florida State University where he teaches for graduate level courses in Budget & Finance and Personnel Management for the Department of Social Work at Florida State University.
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