Denise Viera

Senior Advisor, Office for Civil Rights, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice

Denise Viera has over 30 years of community-focused work experience with an emphasis on community economic development, capacity building, engagement, and collaboration. Currently, Ms. Viera is the Senior Advisor in the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs, working on civil rights compliance and coordination issues. Previously while on detail to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, she was their Senior Projects Coordinator focused on community engagement strategies. She initially joined the DOJ in 2005 as the Deputy Director of the Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO) where she led grant-making efforts to over 300 public safety/neighborhood revitalization sites across the country, and headed CCDO’s policy development, technical assistance and administrative functions. In addition, she has served as the director of municipal housing and economic development departments, a graduate school adjunct instructor of community economic development, a civil rights compliance consultant, executive director of several not-for-profits, and a community organizer.

Denise has provided training and technical assistance to hundreds of organizations across the country with a focus on capacity building and leadership development. She has also designed local, state and national policies in the areas of community economic development; increased access to financial resources for underserved communities; provision of housing and related support resources; civil rights. In her role at DOJ she is using these skills to promote increased public safety and fairness in America’s most distressed communities. Ms. Viera earned her BA from the University of Michigan in political science and communications, an MS in community economic development from the New Hampshire College Graduate School of Business, a JD from the University of Connecticut, School of Law, and holds graduate certifications from the Pratt Institute and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Panel Information

Wednesday, July 27

3:15 PM EST

How to Be a Winner: Leadership Lessons from a Loser

Everyone loves a winner; but at some point, we all make mistakes. In a world defined by viral videos, cancel culture, pressure for perfection and cutthroat competition our failures can quickly become public. When the pressure is on and it seems like the whole world is watching, how can you ensure that you and your team are up to the challenge? When it feels like failure is not an option, what does it take to achieve winning results? Talent? Training? Timing? Tenacity? What does it mean to be results driven? What happens if you fail? Can you be results driven without driving results? This workshop led by an experienced loser and repeat failure will help you answer these important questions. Through an interactive format you will learn about how embracing losing leads to winning, how to distinguish between attribute-based leadership and results-based leadership, gain tools for setting and achieving personal and organizational goals, discover the importance of taking risks, learning to fail, perfecting practice, and putting points on the board. Learn from a loser how you can be a winner.