It is with immense sadness and gratitude that we wish to inform you that Jade Blakkarly has resigned from her position as Chief Executive Officer at Juno to take on the role of CEO of WIRE, effective 24th June 2022. Although it will be sad to see her go, we are incredibly grateful to Jade for all she has given and accomplished, and we wish her the absolute best in future endeavours.
During Jade’s five years as CEO at Juno, she has made a significant impact on the organisation and more recently, guided Juno through the many challenges brought about by COVID-19, where women experiencing homelessness and family violence were particularly vulnerable.
Some of Jade’s many achievements during her time at Juno include:
- Led the rebranding of WISHIN to Juno, marked by an expansion of our work to include early intervention and prevention programs, new service initiatives focused on recovery and capacity building and expanding our advocacy work
- Established Juno’s unique EMPower coaching program, which works with women to build strong, economically secure futures
- Steered the growth and impact of critical partnerships and alliances within the homelessness and family violence sectors to improve client outcomes and social impact
- Officially expanded Juno’s service user eligibility and employment criteria to welcome and include gender diverse people
- Worked with the Board to develop a bold strategic plan, which focuses on collaborative practice and valuing lived experience knowledge to give voice to the gendered experiences of poverty, family violence and homelessness
Juno’s Board is incredibly grateful to Jade for her exceptional leadership and dedication to Juno, its staff and clients. We are very confident in the staff’s ability to continue providing high quality, tailored services across our case management and additional programs throughout the transition, thanks to the great team Jade has built at Juno.
The Juno Board has commenced the recruitment process for filling the CEO position and we look forward to announcing and welcoming the successful applicant in due course. Jade will finish up with Juno on the 24th of June and the role of Acting CEO will be job-shared by Pai Rittchai and Kristen Dearricott.
On behalf of the Board and the wider community, I would like to thank Jade for her unwavering passion, dedication, and commitment to supporting women and gender diverse people experiencing homelessness, and we wish her every success in her new role.
Warm regards,
Melissa Clarkson
Juno Chair
