Stanley to retire after leading CARITAS for 22 years

CARITAS President and CEO Karen Stanley is set to retire Dec. 31 after 22 years at the helm of one of the Richmond region’s largest human service providers. During her time, Stanley not only transformed the organization but also transformed homelessness and recovery services in the region.

Community leaders and friends are invited to honor Stanley at an open house to be held Dec. 13 from 10 a.m. to noon at The CARITAS Center, 2220 Stockton Street in Richmond.  Coffee and croissants will be provided, along with optional tours.

Stanley came to the organization as a board member who had been a volunteer with her congregation, one of more than  300 local community partners that are now intertwined with CARITAS.  During the 1980s, this network of volunteers opened congregations to provide overnight shelter to Richmonders experiencing homelessness during the winter. As the need for shelter grew and became more complex, Stanley stepped up to lead the way.  She took on the official role as executive director of CARITAS in 2000.

During the next two decades, Stanley led the evolution of CARITAS, which grew to become the largest homeless and recovery services organization in metro Richmond. In 2007 Stanley took on the dual role as executive director of The Healing Place, a long-term residential recovery program for men struggling with substance use disorders. Five years later, The Healing Place became an official program of CARITAS.

Other program additions under Stanley's leadership include the CARITAS Furniture Bank, CARITAS Works, and The Healing Place for Women and the Recovery Residences.  In 2020, the CARITAS Center on Stockton Street opened in a renovated tobacco plant, bringing together all the solutions for homelessness and addiction under one roof.  Today, the organization has a $7 million annual operating budget, serves more than 3,300 people each year, employs 50 full-time and 50 part-time staff and enjoys the support of thousands of volunteers and donors.

“Karen Stanley is an inspiring leader and a good soul,” said Greg Suskind, chair of the board of directors. “Karen has touched so many lives directly, and she has built CARITAS into a sustainable institution that will continue serving people for generations to come. She has done it all with a kind heart, a ready smile, and an intense drive to get things done.”

Stanley's awards and honors include the Stettinius Award for Non-Profit Leadership, United Way’s “Champion for Change” of 2008, 2010 YWCA Outstanding Woman Award, 2010 Better Housing Coalition’s Creative Collaborator Award, Richmond Magazine's Bold Women of 2020, 2021 Richmond Times-Dispatch Person of the Year Honoree, and the Leadership Metro Richmond’s Ukrop Community Vision Award in 2022.  She has served as an appointed member of the Governor’s Advisory Board on Service and Volunteerism and on the boards of Homeward and Leadership Metro Richmond.