MANCHESTER, NH – Dr. Cheryl Wilkie is out as Farnum Center’s Chief Operating Officer.
“There’s zero impropriety, and there’s nothing wrong with the model,” said Easter Seals President and CEO Maureen Beauregard late Tuesday.
Wilkie worked at Farnum Center for the past 12 years.
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Beauregard did not get into the particulars of Wilkie’s departure, saying only that she “is no longer employed at Farnum Center,” as of Monday.
“It’s a wonderful program and its run by great people,” said Beauregard, who has been at the helm of Farnum since taking over the organization in October following the retirement of longtime CEO Larry Gammon. Beauregard is the former CEO of Familes in Transition/New Horizons.
When pressed on the circumstances behind Wilkie’s separation with the comprehensive residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation center she has long been associated with, Beauregard said she would not “get into it.”
“Nobody’s left other than Cheryl. Everybody’s doing their jobs. It’s a very mission-driven group, as is all of Easter Seals,” Beauregard said. “I’m not trying to pump sunshine. While this is unfortunate, it is what it is. I feel really good that we have a great team, and we’ll be looking at interim support.”
As for next steps, Beauregard said there is not going to be a rush to replace Wilkie.
“We’re going to take our time and really look at how things are going and make sure everybody’s OK, and keep things moving like they are, and we will eventually post the position. But I’m not in a hurry to run toward that,” Beauregard said.
“They really are a well-oiled machine and very mission-driven people,” Beauregard said. “Of course everyone is going to miss Cheryl, but things this week are going just as they did last week.”
