This week, we are featuring Kayla Larson, North Regional Director!

As North Regional Director, Kayla oversees MACV’s work across 43 counties in northern Minnesota, supporting regional teams and strengthening partnerships with communities, organizations, and service providers. A key part of her role is making sure staff have the resources and support they need while finding ways to make MACV’s services more visible and accessible to Veterans throughout the region.

Kayla’s background spans education, workforce development, and program development. Before joining MACV, she worked with the Minnesota Department of Corrections, where she helped develop and implement a statewide education and workforce model. Working with trade organizations, state agencies, and other partners, she helped build pathways to employment and later shared that approach with programs across the country.

That experience continues to shape how Kayla approaches her work at MACV, particularly across a region as large and diverse as northern Minnesota.

“Every Veteran’s path to housing stability is different. There are often multiple factors at play, and the right response may look different from one community or Veteran to the next. That’s one of the things I appreciate about this work. It requires us to listen, understand the local landscape, and bring the right people and resources together.” — Kayla Larson

Kayla also comes from a family with a long history of military service across multiple generations. While she did not serve herself, she was raised with a deep respect for those who serve and the sacrifices made by Veterans and their families. That perspective has stayed with her and shaped her desire to give back through her work today.

For Kayla, the most rewarding part of the work is seeing what can change when Veterans have the right support. She sees stable housing as a foundation that can give Veterans greater opportunity to focus on employment, health, relationships, and other goals. She also values MACV’s broader approach of working alongside Veterans, communities, and partners to address the barriers that contribute to homelessness in the first place.

Kayla holds a Master’s degree in Teaching from Bethel University and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin–Superior. Outside of work, she enjoys home improvement projects, gardening, and traveling when she can.

From supporting staff to strengthening partnerships across northern Minnesota, Kayla’s work is rooted in bringing people and resources together. For her, being part of an organization that believes ending Veteran homelessness is possible—not simply managing it—makes that work especially meaningful.

Kayla, thank you for your commitment to Minnesota’s Veterans and for all you do to strengthen MACV’s work across northern Minnesota!