Kairos director bows out after two-year term

Executive director Patricia Steenberg of Kairos: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives has decided not to renew her term. Her resignation is effective Aug. 31, 2003.

Launched July 1, 2001, Kairos brought under one umbrella group the work of 10 inter-church coalitions, including the Aboriginal Rights Coalition, the Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice and the Inter-Church Committee for Refugees.

Joe Gunn, social affairs director with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, praised Ms. Steenberg’s work in board development, her oversight of the amalgamation of 10 coalitions, and the support she provided to staff during the organizational change.

Under Ms. Steenberg’s tenure, he said, “Kairos has made its mark in the global movement for social justice,” noting in particular Kairos’ co-sponsorship of the International Debt Tribunal at the World Social Forum in 2001, its facilitation of churchgoers’ participation in the Romanow Commission hearings on the future of healthcare in Canada, and involvement in the many anti-war demonstrations which took place across the country Jan. 18-19.

Ms. Steenberg said she had met her goals of building a firm foundation for the Toronto-based Kairos. She said that she was looking forward to new challenges when she returned to her home and family in Ottawa.