After a year-long search, the Town of Clinton filled a key vacancy when Kathy Grega was hired to be the new director of its Human Services Department in July.

Kathy’s first official day on the job was July 23.

“Right now, we’re figuring out how to get ourselves out into the community,” Kathy tells the Harbor News about her first order of business.

Kathy’s hiring comes after the position was vacant for nearly a year following the retirement of the previous director. During the time without a director, some of the programs offered by the department were curtailed, so part of Kathy’s focus is spreading the word about the programs offered by the department and getting them running again.

“We want to rebrand ourselves and let the community know that we are here,” says Kathy.

Per the job description, Kathy will be charged with “… the planning, development, and delivery of social service programs as well as leading both clinical and prevention efforts of the Youth Service Bureau.”

Kathy will also be asked to direct, coordinate, and evaluate prevention and clinical programs which serve the needs of youth, families, and low-income citizens, while additionally overseeing the department’s personnel, budgets, and grant administration.

“Basically, I help oversee the department and manage the day-to-day work, as well as support clinical and prevention efforts. We also work closely with the schools and police department, too,” says Kathy.

Kathy says that working in the human services field was something she “subconsciously always wanted to do.” As a collegiate track athlete, Kathy first thought about taking on a career in athletic training. “Although I liked it, it wasn’t my passion,” Kathy recalls.

However, Kathy found that her psychology and sociology courses did spark an interest in her.

“I fell in love with working in communities and seeing how a person can affect a community and how a community can affect a person,” says Kathy.

Kathy spent the first 15 years of her career working with young people who were going into shelters.

“Some people find it hard to work with adolescents, but I loved it,” Kathy says.

Most recently, Kathy was clinical director for a non-profit in the New London-area, working with people with substance use disorder and mental health disorders.

While Kathy enjoyed the work, she was ready for a change.

“I was doing primarily clinical and mental health work, which I enjoyed, but after years of being on the administrative side of things, I wanted to get back to that kind of role,” Kathy says.

After spotting the opening in Clinton, Kathy was intrigued by the opportunity to work in a municipal role.

“Most of my career has been in the non-profit arena. Non-profits effect change only with the people that come into the program. But in this job in a municipality, you have the chance to effect change and help people in the whole community,” Kathy explains.

After nearly three decades in the field, Kathy says that favorite part of her job is being able to work with a crew of like-minded individuals seeking to help the community.

“Being able to create a team who are just as passionate, just as motivated as I am to be able to foster that environment and help the team grow is my favorite part. My role as director is to support that team,” Kathy says.

Given the nature of her work, Kathy acknowledges that there are difficult moments, too.

“Recognizing that as many wins as we have [but] it doesn’t always feel like it’s enough can be hard. There is always something difficult in the world that is affecting the average person,” Kathy admits.

Despite the difficult moments, Kathy emphasizes that the department is available to help anyone who may need it.

“We’re here for everyone, and you don’t have to be having significant problems to come talk to us. We’re here to help anyone. We have a lot of resources here, and we have our fingertips on a lot of resources and information outside of Clinton, too,” says Kathy.

Kathy grew up in New York, but she has been in Connecticut since 1993.

“I came for college, fell in love with the state, and was lucky enough to get a job in my field right after graduating,” Kathy says.

In her spare time, Kathy enjoys running, walking, hiking, spending time outside, and spending time with family and friends, including serving as the team mom for her son’s football team.