During my career I have had the good fortune to work in the private, nonprofit and public sectors. I retired in May 2023 as the Director of Human Services for Salt Lake County, where I oversaw Aging & Adult Services, Behavioral Health, Criminal Justice Services, the Health Department, Youth Services, USU Extension and Indigent Legal Services. Despite significant challenges during COVID, all these programs continued to provided these essential services to Salt Lake County residents.
Prior to joining SLCo, I was the President and CEO of Voices for Utah Children, a child advocacy organization from 2001-2014. I am particularly proud of our work to expand access to children’s health care cover through CHIP, secure funding for all-day kindergarten, legislation to address intergenerational poverty, and successful opposition to legislation to repeal in-state tuition for undocumented students at Utah colleges and universities.
My work with Voices for Utah Children and Salt Lake County provided opportunities to serve on a number of boards, including Utah Community Action, Utah Board of Juvenile Justice, Annie E. Casey Fd. KIDS COUNT National Steering Committee, Utah Nonprofits Association, Utahns for the American Dream, and Envision Utah.
In 1990 I moved back to Salt Lake City after an 18 year career with Sears Roebuck & Co. that included administrative and management assignments at local, regional and national levels. From 1990 to 2000, I had the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom for two wonderful sons and be involved in my community. I was a member and chair of the Emigration Community Council, a member of the Emigration Township Planning and Zoning Commission and chaired the successful referendum petition drive by Utahns for Better Dental Health to place fluoride on the 2000 General Election ballot in Salt Lake County. Those experiences led me to run for the Salt Lake County Commission in 1998 and Salt Lake County Mayor in 2000.
I am honored to have been invited to add my voice to the Utah Citizens’ Counsel.
Karen