Welcome to Our Newest Staff Member

We’re excited to introduce Kathryn Thurber-Smith, who has recently joined Island Senior Resources as the Director of Community Services. With more than thirty years of experience in nonprofit healthcare and human services, Kathryn brings both deep expertise and a strong commitment to community-centered care.

Throughout her career, Kathryn has served in both direct service and leadership roles at organizations including Seattle Children’s Hospital and Seattle Mental Health. She is widely recognized for building strong, resilient teams and developing systems of care that respond to the evolving needs of individuals and communities.

Kathryn’s work has spanned complex, multi-setting service environments, where she has led teams providing coordinated care across disciplines. She played a key role in launching a needs assessment and intervention program and has designed initiatives addressing caregiver stress, grief, chronic illness adaptation, food insecurity, and housing instability. At the heart of her work is a commitment to collaboration—bringing together partners across sectors to improve access to essential supports.

A passionate advocate for equitable access to social services, Kathryn approaches her work through a social work lens shaped by decades of community service. She is highly respected for her clarity, collaboration, accountability, and compassion, and is known for thoughtful planning, data-informed decision-making, and careful stewardship of resources.

In her new role at ISR, Kathryn will oversee service delivery, lead efforts to strengthen our programs, and help ensure that staff, clients, partners, and community members feel supported and heard.

Although she is just getting started, Kathryn has already spent time meeting with staff, clients and their loved ones, and community partners across Island County. These early conversations are helping shape her understanding of the needs and aspirations of the community we serve.

Kathryn and her husband have called the Langley area home for the past eight years, after raising their children in Seattle. They share their home with several rescue animals who are, by all accounts, thriving in rural Island County. Together, they have three grown children: a son in Chicago who is an electrical engineer and musician, a son here on Whidbey Island who is a carpenter, and a daughter who will begin law school at the University of Washington this fall.

Please join us in giving Kathryn a warm ISR welcome!