After a week at the helm of the Chatham-Kent Women’s Centre (CKWC), new Executive Director Karen Hunter is settling in and looking forward to putting the Centre and its programs front and centre.
Hunter, a long time Lambton County resident with more than 30 years of experience in the family violence sector, said the CKWC is “a great facility with great staff”.
“I’m figuring out Chatham and how to get around the streets, and getting to know the staff, the agency and its organization,” Hunter said. “I think it’s a great community; everyone has been very friendly and welcoming.”
The new executive director said the municipality has “terrific services and there are lots of good things happening in Chatham and at the Centre.”
Hunter graduated from Niagara College with a Social Service Worker diploma, earned a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of Windsor and a diploma from the Ontario Hospitals Association in Health Care Management.
“I’ve worked in this sector for a long time and am familiar with it. The CKWC has great programs and we’ll see what can maybe be enhanced a bit. There are already some great community partnerships and I’ll look at working on new ones,” she said.
Hunter said she is looking forward to the Centre’s signature event, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, which is coming up this May.
“I’ll be working with the community, putting the CKWC out there as far as a great organization for women, children and men that are experiencing family violence,” she said. “We’re taking the lead in advocating against family violence, but we can’t do it alone and I look forward to working with people and community organizations around that.”
Chatham Kent Women’s Centre Board of Directors president Darlene Smith said she is delighted with the way Hunter has stepped into her new role.
“Karen is settling in very well. She fits into the culture and the staff have already started to embrace her,” Smith said. “We are looking forward to a positive future and the strengths that Karen brings to the Centre, the community and the clients we serve.”
