The Board of Directors for the Queenswood Centre for Spiritual Growth is pleased to announce the appointment of Kate Fagan Taylor to the position of Executive Director. The hiring of Ms. Fagan Taylor, the first person to hold the title of Executive Director in the 40-year history of the Centre, represents a significant development in the three-year plan to transition the Centre from a mission of the Sisters of St. Ann to a self-sustaining not-for-profit society. The Sisters of St. Ann intend the Queenswood Centre for Spiritual Growth to continue as a legacy to the Greater Victoria region.

January 14, 2008 – for immediate release

(Victoria, British Columbia) The Board of Directors for the Queenswood Centre for Spiritual Growth is pleased to announce the appointment of Kate Fagan Taylor to the position of Executive Director. The hiring of Ms. Fagan Taylor, the first person to hold the title of Executive Director in the 40-year history of the Centre, represents a significant development in the three-year plan to transition the Centre from a mission of the Sisters of St. Ann to a self-sustaining not-for-profit society. The Sisters of St. Ann intend the Queenswood Centre for Spiritual Growth to continue as a legacy to the Greater Victoria region.

Ms. Fagan Taylor brings a wealth of experience as a community leader and spiritual program director to this new position. As the Catholic Chaplain at the University of Victoria Interfaith Chaplaincy from 1996-2005, Ms. Fagan Taylor was a chaplaincy program director, retreat facilitator, and pastoral counselor for students and staff.  While serving as a chaplain, she supported local and national not-for-profit organizations and social justice initiatives as an advocate, public speaker, columnist, and board member.  During 2005-2006 Fagan Taylor was Assistant University Secretary/Registrar of the University of Victoria, and most recently she served as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the BC Ministry of Advanced Education.  Ms. Fagan Taylor is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and has a Masters of Divinity degree from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

The board of directors has given Ms. Fagan Taylor a mandate to broaden the number and variety of relationships between Queenswood and the Greater Victoria region.

"The Queenswood Centre has been sharing its spiritual, educational and retreat resources with the surrounding community for many years, but is still one of Victoria’s best-kept secrets,” said Fagan Taylor. “My job will be to ensure that everyone in our region knows about Queenswood and the resources we provide for individuals, groups and organizations.”

The Queenswood Centre for Spiritual Growth is located in Gordon Head on a 14-acre wooded property close to the ocean with walking trails, a therapeutic pool, a dining room, a spirituality library, and rental facilities including a chapel, meeting rooms and forty guest rooms. The facility is available for personal and group retreats, offering a wide variety of support services including facilitated group programs, art and creativity workshops, Reiki, spiritual counseling, meditation, yoga and other wellness programs.

Fagan Taylor expects that Queenswood’s present clients who come for ecumenical Christian programming will continue to be well served, while more options will be developed for men and women who do not identify with a particular religion, but are interested in spiritual growth. 

“Queenswood can become the facility of choice for service organizations that need an inexpensive, beautiful facility for their meetings and retreats. We can be the place they go to re-charge, to plan, to be appreciated, and to remember the personal meaning of their work. By helping social agencies and their staff to achieve their goals, Queenswood will support those who serve the poorest, most at-risk members of our community."

For more information about the Queenswood Centre for Spiritual Growth, please visit www.queenswoodcentre.com.
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Media Contacts: Chair, Board of Directors, Queenswood Centre for Spiritual Growth:
Martin Segger 250-721-6562 msegger@uvic.ca
Executive Director, Kate Fagan Taylor: 250-477-3822 ext.222 execdirector@queenswoodcentre.com