The executive director of Petersburg’s domestic violence prevention nonprofit will be leaving her position this summer.
Rikki McKay was hired to lead Working Against Violence for Everyone last May. She plans to step down from the position in July after just over a year in the role. The director before McKay was in the position for less than a year.
McKay said she’s leaving to finish a double master’s in public health and social work — she’s been working full time at WAVE on top of being a full-time student.
“I would like to become licensed as a clinical social worker. That is a skill that we desperately need here in the community,” McKay said. “We have fabulous social workers, we just don’t have enough.”
McKay said she’s sad to leave the role, and she’s loved the work she’s been able to do with WAVE.
While McKay will still be in the role for a few more months, WAVE board chair Nicole McMurren says the organization is looking to hire someone before McKay leaves. She said they’re looking for someone who is trauma-informed and has nonprofit experience. Ideally, that person would be from Petersburg.
WAVE is also looking to hire a part-time advocate and has five open seats on its board.
With so many openings at the organization, McMurren said her vision for WAVE moving forward is stability.
“My hope for the organization is that we are able to stabilize, at a minimum, the programming that we’ve got to make it sustainable for the long haul, and that we can be adaptable to the needs of the future as we move forward,” she said.
