#42 Come Down From Your Ivory Tower, with Karen Dare, CEO of Communify

My guest in this episode is Karen Dare. Karen is the CEO of Communify, a not-for-profit dedicated to meeting a range of needs in the community, including child safety, housing, mental health, family support, emergency relief and refugee support. 

Karen has over 30 years of experience working within the community sector, and has been with Communify since 1994. She has seen the organisation grow from a small neighbourhood centre with limited resources to the thriving multi-service hub that it is today. 

Karen also works broadly in the community and has sat on the boards of several prominent community organisations and other representative committees including 4Walls Housing Company,  Suncorp Stadium Advisory Committee and Building Services Authority.

Karen is a recipient of the 2001 Centenary Medal and the Brisbane Australia Day Award for her contribution to the community sector.

Highlights of our conversation include a pattern in the sector of everyone wanting their own charity, the power of not-for-profit team members moving on into influential government roles, how Communify develops their leaders, the importance of coming down from your ivory tower as a leader, and Karen sharing the internal contract she has with herself.  

Enjoy the conversation 

To find out more about Communify, go to: https://communify.org.au/

 You can connect with Karen on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-dare-99b3b44b/

To learn more about what it takes to be an evolved leader, and to check out our other podcast episodes, go to:  https://www.evolvedstrategy.com.au/podcast