Karen Delaney helped build Santa Cruz County’s Volunteer Center. Now she’s handing it off

When longtime Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County Executive Director Karen Delaney began preparing for retirement, the organization knew it had big shoes to fill. So big, in fact, that the board kicked off an 18-month strategic planning process to help chart the organization’s next chapter. Key to those efforts was Shawn Peterson, who was officially announced as executive director in July. Peterson has been serving as interim director since January, and has been with the organization for a decade.