The George Issue 19 – Staff Profile

In Jamaica, for many years Karen was a manager at the National Career Development training agency, where she worked with youth who were at risk and struggling to get their lives on track.  She also worked as a therapist and lecturer in communication and psychology at the International University of the Caribbean.  In Canada, Karen spent six years working with youth dealing with mental health issues and criminal charges. She has also been a counselor at Mohawk College and, most recently she has been running her own psychotherapy practice. In addition to all that, Karen is a mum to four children!

Karen is also extensively involved with her church, working to address the emotional trauma within the Black Community, and specifically the taboo of seeking help for mental health issues. During COVID lockdowns, she created and lead an online, live, weekly discussion group, which helped hundreds of people all over the Caribbean, East Africa, and North America talk about their mental health struggles in a safe space.  At the same time, Karen wrote and successfully published a best-selling book on Amazon – ‘Rise! Transforming Pain into Pillars of Strength’. Here, she chronicled her experiences and challenges growing up in Jamaica and immigrating to Canada. She hopes to inspire and empower people who are in similar circumstances. Karen is looking forward to her work with the Centre, and bringing her experience engaging with black communities, her knowledge of the anti-oppression movement, and anti-black racism to her team.

We were curious about how Karen found her way to the George Hull Centre. Surprisingly, a friend had seen the role advertised and forwarded to Karen with the words “This was made for you”. Karen promised to have a look, but it was only a night before the application was due that she finally found time to read the job description.   “It was like fireworks went off, it truly read like it was made for me – so I applied and hoped to hear back”. Well, she did hear back, and the feeling of a perfect fit was mutual.  What really sealed the deal for Karen was her experience with the hiring manager and the staff at the George Hull Center, “They were warm, caring, welcoming – a true team that understood and was as passionate about mental health as I was. I was thrilled I had found my place.” 

We are so pleased to introduce Karen, and we look forward to sharing more wonderful stories of our amazing staff with you soon.