Community Impact Director
Kathy Hurt brings a wealth of diversified experience—both personal and professional—to her role as the community impact director for FHE Health. Her work in the addiction and mental health field first began 40 years ago, when she was still enrolled at Broward College and, in the process of earning her certifications as a Certified Addictions Professional and Case Evaluator, started working in the Broward County Court Administration System. During this period, Ms. Hurt worked in the juvenile system with the courts and with Broward Sheriff’s Office as a case evaluator, and helped to develop several effective juvenile assistance programs.
While attending Rock Valley College, Kathy was offered a position as an on-air spokesperson with the NBC Affiliate in Rockford Illinois. She also worked as a spokesmodel, voiceover, and commercial actor in the Chicago Area.
After surviving Chicago winters, Kathy returned to South Florida to thaw out. She then enjoyed a happy and successful tenure with the Sun Sentinel/Tribune Corporation. While at the Sun Sentinel, Ms. Hurt received the “Award for Creativity” from The Florida Newspaper Marketing Association, and for two consecutive years was nominated for the “Presentation of the Year” award. She was a five-time winner of the “People Responsible in Developing Excellence Award.” She is a proud graduate of the Tribune School of Business and Management.
After retiring from the Sun Sentinel and moving to Vero Beach in Indian River County, Kathy worked for WWCI television as a news anchor and hosted a community radio show on WTTB. That’s also when she personally experienced a devastating loss to alcoholism: she had to watch her sister Kim, an accomplished artist, gradually decline into near homelessness and then premature death at the age of 49. The experience, and the sense of powerlessness she felt in trying to help her sister, ultimately propelled Kathy back into the addiction and behavioral health field— first as the marketing director for Hanley Hall.
Shortly thereafter, Ms. Hurt was promoted to Director of Development of the Treasure Coast for Hanley Center/Hanley Family Foundation. There she was responsible for: fundraising and increasing annual donations (which she did); raising public awareness about the stigma of addiction and substance abuse prevention, and developing and hosting a regional summit on the drug epidemic. The sold-out summit featured the Florida attorney general as keynote speaker and led to the creation of local task forces and panel meetings to address the epidemic— these are still active today.
After 16 years in the Vero Beach area, Kathy relocated back to South Florida. As Community Impact Director, she says one of the greatest joys in working with her team at FHE Health is “the continued work of bringing hope and education to our community.”
