Unity House Announces Promotion of Three Employees
TROY, N.Y. – Unity House has promoted three of its longtime employees: Margaret Arias to director of housing and support services, Claudette Senior to director of community relations and Danielle Wissenbach to director of permanent housing and support services.
Arias has been a part of the team at Unity House since 1995. Over her 28 years of working at Unity House she has held multiple positions, such as assistant program director, program development specialist, and program director in transitional housing programs where she served adults living with and recovering from mental illness. Through her work, Arias is committed to offering housing and support services that promote dignity, self-empowerment, recovery, safety, mutual respect and responsibility.
In her new role, she will provide direct supervision and coaching of residential program managers; maintain a regular presence in all residential programs; monitor for trends and special needs; and oversee all operational matters for the department. Arias is a graduate of Siena College and holds a bachelor of arts in psychology. She resides in Delmar.
Senior has helped serve Unity House clients since 2003. She has worked in the mental health program; the domestic violence program; and as program director of the 24-hour, 33-bed, all-inclusive emergency residential shelter. In 2015 Senior became the assistant service director of non-residential services. With this promotion to director of community resources, Senior will direct and manage the poverty programs at Unity House which include, the food pantry, community meals, emergency services and homelessness prevention.
Senior attended Hobart and William Smith College where she majored in sociology and anthropology, minoring in Africana-Latino studies. She is also a graduate of the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce Leadership Institute Class of 2018. She resides in Rensselaer County.
Wissenbach has been a member of the Unity House team for more than 23 years. During this time, she has provided and supervised services for adults living with HIV/AIDS, met the complex needs of consumers living with co-occurring disorders, and assisted them in living independently in their communities.
As director or permanent housing and support services, Wissenbach is responsible for managing the housing programs for people living with serious mental illness and people living with HIV and AIDS.
She is a graduate of Siena College where she earned a bachelor of arts in psychology. She also currently serves in the Community Health Navigation Advisory Committee for Hudson Valley Community College. She resides in Albany County.