William Joseph “B.J.” Breish, has only worked for Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County since 2014, but according to Florence Kawoczka, a manager at Habitat who nominated B.J., he “quickly earned the respect of his staff by sharing his vision for the ReStore operations while showing his general interest in their personal development.”

“He has continued to make adjustments to our daily operations and develop partnerships with a keen eye to making our ReStores a source of sustainable funding,” she added.

Breish has served as the Director of ReStore Operations since 2015, managing the operations of their two ReStore locations. His first ReStore netted $200,000 recently which supports construction of a home for one of the needy families.

Breish feels that Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County is doing amazing things by changing the world for the better. He wishes more people got to experience what he sees every day, because it “puts things in a new and important perspective.”

The ReStore Association of Habitat International considers Reish a trendsetter in illustrating best practices.

Before he joined Habitat for Humanity, Breish worked for Samuel Adams and Impact Thrift. The job at Impact came about because, as a customer, he got to know Paul Baur, the CEO and Founder of Impact Thrift.

He found an interest in what Impact was doing and eventually convinced Paul to give him a job.

Breish says his father, “Inspired me by modeling hard work, dedication and strong values.”

He believes to be, “A GREAT leader, is to genuinely lead to serve and develop others.”

“It also requires a understanding that being a leader doesn’t always equal being right, and making the right decisions,”  he added.

He’s learned a lot from exceptional leaders, and also learned “what not to do” from others.

He said he is motivated every day, by his staff as well as volunteers who continue to grow and inspire him with their sheer will and determination to fulfill their mission and support their community. Another thing that motivates him is his ability to help develop others and support them on a daily basis in many different (and growing) ways.

The Lansdale resident, who has been married to Brianna for the past three years, was a volunteer firefighter for a number of years, but recently has taken a break from that with the birth of his daughter Addison over a year ago.

When asked if he’s liked to give a “shout out” to anyone, B.J. said, “If I know you or have known you, you have inspired me.”