Right now, Erica Nanney is embracing the idea of new beginnings.
The freshly-minted executive director and sexual assault program coordinator for the Coalition Against Rape and Domestic Violence has the task of leading the organization - and a team almost as new as she is - through a reformation, and she said Wednesday she is excited by the challenge.
"Everything had to be reinvented because some roles were eliminated and some were combined with others," Nanney said, noting the most senior of the three full-time staff members has been with CARDV for three months. "We're learning as we go. Since the staff is so new we can really start over in a great way, and that's the approach we're taking."
A former support coordinator with Callaway County Special Services and field supervisor at a health services company with a degree in social work, Nanney said the prospect of helping to rebuild was one of the things that drew her to the position.
"I initially had called Mark Koch, and he was talking about some of the struggles CARDV was having, and I wanted to help. I'm really passionate about working together as a team and empowering victims of domestic violence to make the safest choices in their life," she said. "I knew it would be a challenge, and I've always liked a challenge."
In addition to Nanney, CARDV now has a new crisis intervention specialist and advocate and a new volunteer and outreach coordinator and advocate, with a new counselor set to start on Aug. 26.
CARDV Board of Directors President Jemma Fickess said it was Nanney's enthusiasm in the face of the long list of responsibilities facing the new director that convinced the board she was the best choice for the job.
"I think we were really impressed with her dynamic personality and her confidence and her professionalism," Fickess said. "Her enthusiasm really just showed through. It was a very easy decision."
Fickess said the recent turnover in staff "wasn't any big kerfuffle, it just happened this way."
"We did sort of regroup a little bit for financial reasons," she said. "We really see this as an opportunity to move forward with a new group."
Nanney said the biggest challenge thus far has been learning what has been done in the past, figuring out what did and didn't work and trying to incorporate new ideas.