Blase Bova

Blase Bova is Director of Operations and Development at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix, Arizona. He oversees fundraising for the Society, as well as its food service programs and charity dining rooms, facilities, and special services for the homeless and working poor families. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s in Sociology, both from the University of Missouri. Blase has been with St. Vincent de Paul since 1997. In 1996 he undertook a travel adventure, pedaling 2,000 miles on a self-built recumbent tricycle, with a solar panel, a laptop, and a website to which school classrooms subscribed, to follow his progress through maps, journals, photos and games. Prior to this he was a data analyst, network manager, and computer user support person at a social psychology research center in Eugene, Oregon. He has worked as a French teacher, nursing home activity director, portrait photographer, and a waiter at a ten-room hotel in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales (population 500). He lives in Chandler, Arizona with his wife, Gabriela, and their son, Andres, who is 13. Since Gabriela is the Manager of Volunteer Services at St. Vincent de Paul, they always use the HOV lane. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an international non-profit organization dedicated to serving the poor and providing others with the opportunity to serve. The Phoenix Diocesan Council has been assisting central and northern Arizona families since 1946. Programs include services for the homeless, medical and dental care for the working poor, charity dining rooms, thrift stores, a transitional housing shelter and general assistance for individuals in need.