Janelle Chester

Quality Assurance and Training Coordinator of The Salvation Army’s DDS Department

The Salvation Army 

Janelle Chester is a celebrated leader, fiancé, mother, and coordinator. She is the quality assurance and training coordinator for The Salvation Army’s DDS Department.

Having worked consistently in the field with the persons she supports for over a decade, Chester is no stranger to the field of the developmentally disabled. 

She has been a valued member of the Salvation Army DDS Department since March of 2016, where she started an illustrious career as an endearing direct service professional at the Salvation Army’s Millennium Individualized Residential Alternative (IRA) Facility. She was promoted through the ranks from the medical coordinator to the assistant program manager culminating in her being identified as the prime candidate in May of 2019 to manage the entire facility.

Through great effort, the loss of close family members, a proposal of marriage, and the birth of a son, Chester was able to position herself to mentor and steward the staff of the program where, in October of 2020, she began her tenure and all of The Salvation Army DDS Department as their quality assurance and training coordinator.

She is best known throughout her circle for the content of her character and through her selflessness, gregariousness and charitability. Many of the staff she has trained can still be found quoting her catchphrase: “the individuals come first.” Chester has truly become a force for change that she wished to see in the world.