Growing up, poverty was a huge obstacle for Karen Days; however, it also helped her develop one heck of a work ethic! Karen is the President of the Center for Family Safety and Healing. In this position, she works with others to create a community culture that does not tolerate family violence.
In addition to the incredible responsibility of that position, she currently volunteers with the Columbus Board of Health as President Pro Tem, is a board member of The Ohio Domestic Violence Network, and is on the Advisory Board of the Ohio Attorney General’s Victims Assistance Act. In 2001, Karen received the “Karama Community Leadership Award” from the Columbus Urban League and in 2009 received the “Women of Achievement Award” from the YWCA.
Karen says that it is difficult to sum up the moment that best defines her in one specific moment. “I learned early that blessing also come with a burden. The bigger the blessing, the bigger the burden. This is not a bad thing; it just means that I am being trusted with greater things.” Karen is inspired by qualities such as transparency and integrity. “Tenacity is also huge. My mother was the biggest inspiration in this area and in my life. No matter what circumstance in which she found herself, she loved the six of us with every fiber in her being. My friend and mentor, Abigail Wexner, has been another huge inspiration. She is genuine in everything that she does and this leaves me awestruck at times.”
Balancing everything in life is something that Karen does not do nearly as well as she would like to. “Someone very important to me told me that work/life balance is a myth. She went on to say that recharging in a meaningful way is what is important. I am doing better at routinely taking those nuggets of time. It used to be that I would wait until I had nothing left in my tank before I took a vacation. Now I know why I was too tired to have fun.”
Karen would love to see less anger in the world. “If we were slow to anger, the world would be much safer. Driving would be a calmer experience and friendships would be stronger.” Karen will never stop believing and telling others that family violence (child abuse, tween/teen dating violence, domestic violence and elder abuse) can be eliminated! “If we start as early as possible, teach our youth other ways to express themselves, the cycle of family violence can definitely be broken.”
To find out more about The Center for Family Safety and Healing, please visit www.Familysafetyandhealing.org and www.Wherestheline.info.