Will County Center for Community Concerns director retiring after more than 20 years

Will County — The Will County Center for Community Concerns has announced that Executive Director Kris White will retire at the end of the year.

White served in that role for 23 years.

“It has been such an honor to lead this organization by providing hope through self-sufficiency for those in need,” White said in the news release announcing her retirement. “I am deeply proud of the work our committed staff, board of directors and all our community partners [put in, and] for the services we have been able to provide.”

The WCCC was formed in 1987 and works “to assist and enable low- and moderate-income individuals to obtain the opportunities needed to prepare themselves for self-sufficiency,” according to the organization’s website.

White has been involved in community action for 35 years and has served on the board of the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies – of which WCCC is a member of – since 2003.

“I am grateful for Kris White’s many years of leadership at Will County Center for Community Concerns and wish her the best in her well-deserved retirement,” WCCC board Chair Linda Pote said in the announcement. “Through her leadership, the agency has grown tremendously from its small location on Doris Avenue to the current location on Glenwood Avenue in Joliet. She has always stepped up to secure whatever funds she can to provide services to the many people in Will County who may need assistance during a time of personal crisis. I am truly proud of the work she has accomplished and want her to know she will be missed."

After the announcement of White’s retirement, the WCCC board announced that she will be succeeded by Michelle Allen as executive director.

Allen is a lifelong Will County resident and has served as the vice president/chief development officer for Cornerstone Services for the past 10 years.

In naming Allen as the new executive director, the board said “her extensive background in grants and program implementation will serve the agency well.”