The ACLU of New Hampshire is mourning the profound loss of friend and colleague, Karen Rose.
As our Director of Operations, Karen worked at the ACLU for more than six years. It is not an exaggeration to say that without her, our growth as an organization would look substantially different. In those six years, we went from four employees to fifteen, and it was her expertise in all things finance, non-profit, human resources, and operations that allow us to do the work we all have a shared passion for doing.
In every new challenge she met, she centered our staff and each individual’s thoughts, feelings, and what would be best for them—whether in their personal or professional needs. She never let the ACLU of New Hampshire do things because that is “how they have been done,” instead continuously looking, reading, and researching how to bring our work fully up-to-date in ways that benefit our employees, clients, supporters, volunteers, and so much more.
Karen was a fiercely thoughtful friend, confidant, and colleague to everyone at our organization. Members of our team would routinely ask Karen for advice, for thoughts on a situation, if they had an idea on how the ACLU could improve, or sometimes just to chat about nothing work-related at all. Without fail, if she could help, she did—and nearly every employee past and present has an example of how Karen went above and beyond for them, whether it was to solve a problem, strategize about an upcoming endeavor, or implement a brand new project.
Every day, Karen focused on making better our organization, our staff, and all the work that we do. We are forever grateful for everything she has done for the ACLU of New Hampshire, and her work will have a tremendous impact for years to come.
Thank you, Karen Rose. We miss you.