There is a new addition to the Paulding WIC Office! Sherry Miller, who has been WIC Director since 2007 is retiring, and a new Director has been hired — Kristen Kurilec.
Sherry Miller came into the position of WIC Director at the Paulding County Health Department in April 2007. She is a 22 year veteran in the nursing field specializing in pediatrics. Sherry has lived in the Paulding County area all her life — she grew up in Grover Hill, lived in Scott with her husband where she spend 18 years on the Scott EMS. She is also a licensed CPR teacher.
Sherry and her husband have two grown children and two grandchildren. The decision to retire was a joint decision with her husband. He had the opportunity presented to him to retire and decided to take it. This made Sherry think — life is short, it’s time to move on in life. Sherry plans to enjoy her retirement by spending time with her grandchildren, camping, and traveling.
Sophia Mobley, WIC clerk has been at Paulding County WIC for 25 years and has worked under five directors during her tenure. Kristen will be the sixth. Sophia and Sherry have worked together for 13 years and have established a flow in the office that worked well for the clients and each other. Sophia says she will miss working with Sherry, but is also excited to work with someone outside the nursing field and now gets to work with an RD. “Sherry brought a lot to the Paulding County WIC program over the years. She is really good with her clients, very personable. They love her and she loves them.” stated Mobley.
Incoming WIC Director, Kristen Kurilec, will take the reigns of the Paulding County WIC office beginning in July 2020. Kristen grew up in Paulding High School and Bluffton University. She is a Registered Dietitian. She came to Paulding after working several years in Long Term Care in the Columbus area.
During high school, Kristen was a member of the Food Science team at Paulding through the FFA program. Their team was very successful as she really enjoys the chemistry of food. She began her studies at Bluffton U in the Food Science program, but soon realized that she did not want to work in a laboratory in research, she wanted to work with people. She had the opportunity to job shadow a Registered Dietitian and realized this is the direction she wanted to take her career. During her time in Columbus her and her husband were looking to move back to the Paulding County area. She had always been interested in WIC, and when she saw the job opportunity open at the Paulding County WIC, it was like a sign of things falling into place. She is a small town girl who likes being back in small town America.
Kristen stated that she likes the outreach aspect with the community of Public Health in Paulding County WIC. She is anxious to implement and continue plans with the continuing efforts of WIC in Paulding County.
Transition in the Paulding County WIC office is taking place now as Sherry is training Kristen to take the reigns 100% in July 2020.
