The CEO of Cumbria Deaf Association has resigned after five years at the helm.
Caroline Howsley joined the charity in December 2020 as general manager.
The organisation was still reeling from the death of its CEO and the pandemic. It then had to endure arson attempts, break-ins and criminal damage, Caroline said.
Caroline and her team continued to work through the challenges and recovered, ensuring that the community was supported all the way through unsettling times.
Under her guidance, the association underwent a profound transformation. She stabilised the organisation’s financial health, doubled its staff, and expanded its reach.
In 2023 Barclays debanked the charity. Caroline and the chairman lent money to the charity to enable it to continue.
Caroline said her professional identity was inextricably linked to her personal history of hearing loss.
Aged 10, she experienced a sudden and painful medical event that resulted in the rupture of both eardrums.
The incident, followed by recurring infections, left her profoundly deaf for eight years.
By the age of 18 Caroline regained some of her hearing, as her left ear drum started to heal.
She said a key aspect of her leadership was a strategic shift from passive service provision to active community empowerment.
She said she recognised that the deaf community in Cumbria was often trying to manage on their own, unaware of their legal rights to support.
A central part of her vision was to help inform the deaf community what they were entitled to.
It led to a significant increase in requests for interpreters for critical appointments such as doctor and dentist visits.
She focused on training businesses to better assist deaf visitors and actively worked with universities and colleges to train the next generation of interpreters and social care professionals.
In August this year, she was named CEO/Director of the Year (Women in Business) at Business Awards UK (Cumbria) Awards, and the association also won a Triumph over Adversity Award for its resilience.
In the same month, at Carlisle Racecourse, where a special horse race was named in her honour – the Caroline Howsley Appreciation Handicap Stakes.
