After more than half a decade of service, our CEO Karen Lyon Reid has retired from The Lady Musgrave Trust.
Karen served as CEO of The Lady Musgrave Trust for the past six years, and was on the board prior to that. We would like to recognise and thank Karen for her service and commitment to fighting women’s homelessness and improving the lives of young women in Queensland.
“Karen has been an exceptional leader of The Lady Musgrave Trust for many years, first as a Director and then as CEO,” The Lady Musgrave Trust President Louise Kelly says. “She has put her heart and soul into ensuring that The Lady Musgrave Trust is able to continue providing accommodation and services to women in QLD who are at risk of homelessness.
We acknowledge Karen’s leadership and commitment to helping women in need. During this time she has been a true guardian of the legacy of The Lady Musgrave Trust.
Over this six years, the Trust has:
- Purchased 11 units to provide accommodation for women and their children in crisis
- Produced and distributed 60,000+ Handy Guides for Queensland women in need
- Secured funding for, developed and distributed The Handy Guide for Older Women
- Secured funding for and began developing a Handy Guide for women experiencing domestic and family violence
- Secured funding for and worked towards the digitisation of the Handy Guides for multiple audiences
- Managed annual fundraising events, as well as the Annual Forum for Women and Homelessness, which pivoted to a national online event in 2021
Karen’s work was driven by the impact The Lady Musgrave Trust could have on women in the community.
“It has been a pleasure continually developing the Trust, along with the Board, to make a difference to a woman’s life,” she says. “To change their path, so they can lead a healthier and happier life.”
“I would like to thank all of those who supported myself and the Trust over the years and those who worked closely with me to achieve what we did.”
Stepping into the role as CEO is Victoria Parker. Before joining the Lady Musgrave Trust, Victoria managed her own consultancy specialising in social impact and community engagement, with a particular focus on community, family, and housing-related clients. Over the last five years Victoria has played a leadership role in several flagship community-focused projects, including Logan Together – one of Australia’s largest child and family development programs.
Victoria has until recently served as the Chair of the Lady Bowen Trust, a charitable trust that helps Queenslanders find safe and stable housing. She is looking forward to pouring her skills, experience, and energy into achieving the vision of The Lady Musgrave Trust.
While we are sad to see Karen go, we wish her the best for her next chapter, and we’re sure she’ll bring the same winning approach to her future endeavours that she brought to The Lady Musgrave Trust.
“The Lady Musgrave Trust thank Karen for her service and wish her all the best in her retirement,” Louise says.
Thank you, Karen.