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Dawn Center names director
By JOY DAVIS-PLATT, Times Staff Writer The county's only domestic violence shelter will soon have a new executive director, a move officials hope will get the agency back on track after a yearlong run of problems. By month's end, Stephanie Walley is expected to take the top spot at the Dawn Center, said board member Karen Nicolai. "Stephanie is very impressive," said Nicolai, Hernando's clerk of the circuit court. "I think she is exactly what this agency needs at this point in its development." Walley, who serves now as chief operating officer for Sunrise of Pasco County, a domestic violence agency, is expected to make the move by April 29. "I am absolutely a victims' advocate," said Walley, 39. "I got my start as a counselor working with victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Even now, that resonates with me. I want programs that are available to all women." Since her days as a counselor in her native England, Walley has added grant writing and organizational skills to her repertoire, something that impressed the board greatly, Nicolai said. Before joining Sunrise, Walley served as the Salvation Army's Domestic Violence Shelter director in Pasco County. She has also worked as a supervisor at the Spring, Hillsborough County's domestic violence shelter. Since revelations of unsanitary conditions at the Dawn Center's administrative office and thrift store last year, officials there have cleaned house. In October, the organization got an entirely new board of directors. The "crisis board," consists of a who's who of Hernando County leaders including Hernando County Commissioner Nancy Robinson, who serves as president; Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent; state Sen. Ginny Brown-Waite; Barbara Joy, director of discharge planning at Oak Hill Hospital; and Frank McDowell, county code enforcement director. Choosing the new administrator was one of the board's first actions. "I think with her experience in building a shelter and raising funds, she is exactly what we were looking for," Nicolai said. "I know that the (Dawn Center) staff have worked very hard in pulling things back together," said Walley. "Obviously, this is a challenge, but I feel I'm up to it. From here, it is onward and upward."
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