Karen E. Turner

Background

About Karen E. Turner

Open your eyes and look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?" Robert Nesta Marley A dynamic and engaging leader, rooted in principles of social justice, community development and integrity. Karen is an experienced senior manager. She is currently leading the development of a provincial Oversight Approach for the Regional Services Division of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS). As Manager of Community Programs & Out of Home Care with MCCSS, Toronto Region, since 2010, she leads high-performing teams, tasked with managing a system of transfer-payment agencies that provide support services to children, youth and their families; responsible for an annual allocation of over $400 million, and licensing of children’s out-of-home care settings. She previously worked in leadership roles within the ministry on the Violence Against Women Prevention portfolio. Karen has over two decades of community experience - in direct service, management and volunteer roles. She has worked in non-profits in Hamilton and Toronto with various populations - people with developmental disabilities, women in conflict with the law, homeless women and survivors of violence. She continues to assist non-profit organizations with program development, consulting and grant-writing supports. She has volunteered on social service agency boards. An accomplished musician, Karen freelances as a keyboard player, with a specialty in Caribbean folk music and gospel. Her most rewarding performance was a regular gig as a music volunteer, playing piano at a community hospice. Karen is a partner and performer with Outerregion, an Afrofuturist performance company that creates meaningful intercultural social exchanges that engage the public. She has performed with Outerregion in Vancouver and Kamloops, BC, in Lethbridge, AB and throughout Ontario including Nuit Blanche and The Toronto Biennial of Art.