Karen Enns
New Parent Services & Families First Program Director
I have been committed to health and justice issues for a long time. My BA, from a small liberal arts college in Kansas, is in Peace Studies. After working in health promotion in Haiti for 3 years, I pursued a Master of Public Health Degree in Maternal and Child Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
My current work in child abuse prevention is a natural evolution from my previous work in reproductive health and family planning. My motivation for working to ensure that families are indeed planned – that all babies are wanted and loved – stems from my desire to ensure that no child suffers from parental abuse or neglect of any kind.
I work at the Next Door because I can pursue these convictions through delivering high-quality, best-practice programs, knowing that we are actually making a difference in the lives of parents and children. My position allows me to pursue advocacy efforts at a state and national level as well, in hopes of making a positive impact beyond our Gorge area.