Our Team

In June 2024, the Board of Directors of Dubuque and Jackson Counties Habitat for Humanity (DJCHFH), appointed Hilary Dalton as their new Executive Director.  Her priorities include bringing DJCHFH into full operational functionality, ensuring rigorous compliance with Habitat for Humanity International’s standards, expanding programmatic reach—especially into Jackson County—cultivating new levels of generosity from donors, and welcoming more homeowners into the DJCHFH family.

Prior to joining DJCHFH, Ms. Dalton worked at a Fortune 500 educational publishing company where she contributed to the development of content, software, and services.  Dalton holds a master's in nonprofit business with a specialization in arts administration. Her graduate capstone internship with the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C., helped shape her deep commitment to nonprofit management and public service.

Dalton has been intentional in how she gives back to her Dubuque, Iowa community having served as Board Vice President for Crescent Community Health Center, commissioner on the Housing and Community Advisory commissions, member of the Historic Neighborhoods Association Leadership Council, and core volunteer at the Washington Neighborhood Community Garden.

A single parent of twin daughters, Ms. Dalton takes immense pride in her own journey to first-time homeownership.  “Because of the tremendous joy and pride I have experienced through homeownership," Dalton says, "I want to bring as many people as possible onto the Habitat pathway to homeownership".

Dalton's family tree is filled with public servants, stewards of the environment, and builders—builders of community, consensus, and lasting legacies. This legacy of service, stewardship, and leadership fuels her vision for the organization, extending through the next decade and beyond.