{"id":13969,"date":"2026-01-15T22:33:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T05:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/womens-resource-center-announces-interim-executive-director\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:42:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:42:44","slug":"womens-resource-center-announces-interim-executive-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/womens-resource-center-announces-interim-executive-director\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s Resource Center announces interim executive director"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Kathleen
Kathleen \u201cKatie\u201d Jones will be taking over as executive director of the Women's Resource Center effective March 2, following several difficult months for the organization. (Shane Benjamin\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A familiar face has returned to the Women\u2019s Resource Center amid a time of uncertainty for the nonprofit.<\/p>\n

An announcement was made in a Women\u2019s Resource Center newsletter Wednesday that Christy Schaerer, former Women\u2019s Resource Center program director from 2010 to 2016 and former executive director from 2016 to 2023, would be stepping back into the role of executive director at the center on an interim basis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome home,\u201d the newsletter\u2019s subject line read.<\/p>\n

\u201cChristy is uniquely attuned to the needs of our community,\u201d the board of directors wrote in the newsletter. \u201cFrom being part of the team, establishing our Scholarship and Low-Bono programs to launching fan-favorite events like Men in Heels, her impact on the WRC is immeasurable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Schaerer\"
Schaerer<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Schaerer said she felt it was time to \u201cstep up again\u201d and lend her knowledge and expertise to the organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cI care deeply about the mission, and know what we do in the community is important,\u201d she said. \u201cOur mission is why I stepped back in. It\u2019s like, \u2018OK, let\u2019s get going, and we can get things set up and get an executive director in here and start doing what we\u2019re here to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Long-term volunteer Jennifer Tabak was briefly set to take over the interim executive director role, but did not end up serving in the position.<\/p>\n

The board described being \u201cgrateful to have (Schaerer\u2019s) guidance during this time of transition\u201d and looking toward an \u201cexciting new chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n

The announcement comes after several difficult months for the nonprofit.<\/p>\n

Former Executive Director Tammy Tyner, who Schaerer originally hired in 2016, abruptly <\/a>left the organization in November after nine years in the role.<\/p>\n

Tyner died by suicide<\/a> several days after her tenure at the center ended.<\/p>\n

\"Tyner\"
Tyner<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Both she and the board declined to comment about the reason for her departure at the time \u2013 but several former staff members and the board later said Tyner had been fired.<\/p>\n

The center then closed in mid-December amid resignations of volunteers and staff members, who cited ethical concerns<\/a> with the board.<\/p>\n

\n

Newsletter signup<\/h4>\n

To receive daily or breaking news alerts, visit www.durangoherald.com\/newsletter-signup\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Several former staff members and volunteers alleged misuse of WRC funds by the board, \u201cbullying\u201d behavior and paychecks being issued late or incomplete.<\/p>\n

The board told The Durango Herald<\/em> in a written statement that the allegations were \u201cunfounded and potentially damaging to the vital mission of the WRC.\u201d<\/p>\n

The board told the Herald<\/em> that the center would be reopening with reduced hours over the holidays and into the new year, but a \u201ctemporarily closed\u201d banner remained on the organization\u2019s website<\/a> as of Thursday, and Schaerer said the center is still working toward reopening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can only do so much right now, until we get some more people in here to volunteer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Schaerer declined to comment on Tyner\u2019s work at the center or the allegations made against the board.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m kind of stepped out of that piece of it,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to come in and fill in this position to get things set up and moving forward. \u2026 I knew Tammy, and obviously she worked well and knew the programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schaerer said the center is not yet ready to release a timeline for finding a more permanent executive director, but that efforts are underway.<\/p>\n

\u201c(We\u2019re) definitely working toward getting the organization doors open again, and then just working on our existing programs and making sure that we\u2019re providing services and financial (resources) for women and girls in the community right now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

epond@durangoherald.com<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christy Schaerer to return to leadership role at organization <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,1269,994,1283],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-13969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-nonprofits","tag-trueanthem","tag-womens"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13969"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19256,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13969\/revisions\/19256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13969"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=13969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}