Dear NASW-MN Members and Committed Partners:
It is with great pleasure that the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers announces the hiring of our new Executive Director, Karen Goodenough, MSW, LGSW.
Karen has broad and extensive professional social work experience. Most recently, she has conducted social service organizational capacity building, helping organizations with strategic planning, leadership development, fundraising, data-driven program decision making, and environmental scanning and customer research – all skills that will promote and build our chapter. Previously, she was the Director of Youth and Family Development with the Plymouth Christian Youth Center in North Minneapolis for nine years, initiating, overseeing and partnering on numerous youth and community-building projects. Her social work experience and positions include: Program Coordinator with the St. Louis Park Emergency Programming, Family Service Coordinator at Head Start in the CAP agency (Burnsville), Community Outreach Coordinator in the Volunteers of America Senior Nutrition Services (Golden Valley), and Community Family Support Worker in the Community Action Council (Burnsville). She has significant leadership experience in the social work profession, having chaired the Out of School Time Action Team for the Northside Achievement Zone, Chair and Vice Chair of the Association of Marco Practice Social Workers, a board member of the Plymouth Christian Youth Center, and a NASW Board member from 1999-2004, chairing the Social Policy Action Network committee.
Karen is a product of three different Minnesota institutions with a BSW from St. Olaf, MSW from Augsburg University, and working towards her PhD in social work at the University of Minnesota. Her expertise in organizational and community development, grant writing and fundraising, and evaluation has led to numerous adjunct appointments in a variety of social work programs across the state, including: Augsburg, St. Cloud State, St. Olaf, Saint Catherine/St. Thomas, and the University of Minnesota.
Ms. Goodenough has worked in different parts of the state, including a two-year position as a Research and Legislative Analyst for the Department of Corrections in Faribault, and in her doctoral program has completed research on rural substance abuse recovery in Southeastern Minnesota. As a Research Assistant with the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, she worked with partners across the state to evaluate the Title IV-E programs.
Ms. Goodenough has been a dedicated social work leader and partner in the community, state, and the profession. Karen’s experience, breadth of service, and leadership capabilities make her a wonderful fit for the MN Chapter of NASW, spanning a broad array of social work practice, geographic locations, educational institutions, and generations of social workers.
We could see no better way to celebrate March, national Social Work Month, than by welcoming our new Executive Director to the organization. We are fortunate and so pleased that she will lead the chapter into the future.
Please join me in welcoming Ms. Goodenough to NASW-MN,
Jessica Toft, PhD, MSW, LISW
President of the Board, MN Chapter of National Association of Social Workers
