Fall 2003

Carole McBride-Pedersen Joins Lighthouse Team as Director of Human Resources

The Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind extends a warm welcome to Carole McBride-Pedersen, our new director of human resources. Carole completed a demanding thirty-four-hour interview process before joining the Lighthouse and is now undergoing an all-inclusive training during her first weeks here.

“We are excited about having a full time person dedicated to human resources management,” says Paula Hoffman, director of rehabilitation and external affairs. Paula feels that hiring Carole will be the key to making improvements in recruiting and job training. “We want to improve recruitment practices and to focus on upward mobility for people who are blind,” says Paula. “We also want to make sure that people are the right match for the right job.”

Carole comes to the Lighthouse with over two decades of experience in management, human resources and executive responsibilities. She initially became acquainted with the Lighthouse through her husband, Norm Pedersen, who works for the Boeing Company. In the past Norm’s duties at Boeing included working with the Lighthouse to ensure the quality of airplane parts produced here. “He always talked about how impressed he was by the staff at the Lighthouse,” says Carole. “He recommended the job to me because he knew me and the type of people I like to work with.”

Carole’s top priority is using her skills and knowledge to enhance the Lighthouse and its mission. “It’s very important to me to work for an organization where I can add value,” she states.  Among her goals is making it easy for people to contact her. “I want to make everyone as comfortable as I can,” she says.

Carole is already taking measures to make sure this happens, including requesting a central office location, undergoing an in-depth blindness awareness training and beginning to learn how to read and write Braille. “I have an open-door policy,” she explains. “I feel very particularly about people who work on an hourly basis being able to stop by. If I leave the office, I like to stick a note on the door with where I’ll be and when I’ll be back. I wanted to learn Braille so I could prepare my notes and make sure they are available to everybody.”

Along with undergoing training in each department, Carole will be looking at employee opinion survey data and assessing what organizational improvements can be made. She expresses anticipation at the prospect of working with Lighthouse employees. “I’m excited about the diversity. There is so much to do with so many different people! So many people seem so open and enthusiastic, not just about me coming on board, but about developing a human resources team.” In regards to her expectations for her new position, Carole sums it up succinctly: “I will not be bored.”    

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