CORNWALL, Ontario – The Social Development Council of Cornwall and Area (SDC) welcomed Carilyne Hébert as the new Executive Director on Monday, May 28. Hebert is replacing Alex de Wit, who acted as the Executive Director since 2012.
“I feel like everything I’ve been doing for the last several years has really lead me in this direction, and this where I’m meant to be right now,” said Hébert.
Hébert has worked in the non-profit sector for the past eight years with the Agapé Centre, Contact North, the Eastern Ontario Training Board and Big Brother Big Sisters. She has also served as a City Councillor. With her new role on the SDC, Hébert is uncertain if she will be running for a City Councillor position again this year.
“I’m certain that Carilyne will lead the SDC towards bigger and better things and in new creative directions,” said de Wit in a press release.
Hébert was involved with humanitarian efforts in the Dominican Republic during high school, and this led her to pursue a career that would directly helping others. She attended St. Lawrence College for one year of a two-year Business Diploma and then went on to university. After discovering that university wasn’t for her, she came back to Cornwall and eventually applied for a position with the SDC.
Unfortunately, the Council didn’t choose Hébert for the position because she hadn’t completed her Business Diploma.
“I hung up the phone, walked into my boss’s office, quit my job and went back to school,” said Hébert. “This was about eight or nine years ago. So, because I was turned down for a job with the SDC, I went back to school and finished my Business Diploma. And before I finished my diploma, I already had a job with the Agape Centre.”
Hébert looks forward to meeting with members of the community and discovering where there are gaps in local services and involvement. She is excited to accomplish this with the Vibrant Community Roundtable project, while maintaining the four pillars of the SDC: info and referrals, employability, food security and battling poverty. Some issues already at the forefront of this initiative include poverty, food security and access to transportation.
“There are a lot of moving parts with this organization and I’m really happy to be in a leadership role for all of these really amazing initiatives that are, in their own way, making great change in the community,” said Hébert.
