Kathleen Bentley retires after 50+ year career in public service

• Aniya Faulcon
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  Aniya Faulcon is The Spark Host/Producer for WITF. She has a passion for shining a light on unique people, experiences, and perspectives within the community.
  
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 Perry County Literacy Council

Kathleen Bentley, Executive Director at Perry County Literacy Council

Airdate: December 01, 2022

Kathleen Bentley, executive director for the Perry County Literacy Council, is retiring after a more than 50-year career of public service.

Throughout her career she’s received recognition and awards for her ability to reduce the barriers that individuals face in the public sector and provide a clear path for employment and self sufficiency for people across the region.

Starting at the age of eight, Bentley took on challenging tasks like caring for her chronically-ill mother and working with seriously injured Vietnam vet’s at a veteran’s hospital, because she said she has a high tolerance for solving problems.

“I believe if you have the ability to overlook some of the obvious things and get into the core of what will really help someone, then you should,” Bentley said. “So I’ve encouraged others to think that way and frankly, I have had a joyous life and career.”

After college, for thirty five years Bentley worked as a special education teacher at Loysville Youth Development Center, where she was the first female teacher and catered to adjudicated juvenile delinquent male students from all over Pennsylvania. After thirty five years in that role she retired and decided to come back to the workforce after two months because she said, she needed to do something purposeful.

As the executive director for PCLC, she worked to increase the reach of her organization by pushing for funding to end generational poverty, provide educational programs, in-house childcare, photo IDs, social security cards, birth certificates, cell phones and minutes, food, housing, and door-to-door transportation to those in need.

She also implemented organizational strategies to help community members and was integral in helping PCLC become the certified CareerLink in Perry County.

Leslie Heimbaugh, Bentley’s successor and Development Officer for the PCLC, said she has big shoes to fill.

“I had a fabulous teacher in Kathy… You’ve seen people with the ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ bracelets, this is a ‘What would Kathy do?’ situation for me and I’m constantly thinking about how she would solve a problem, ” Heimbaugh said. “I can’t be Kathy. I can be Leslie; and I’m going to try to be the best Leslie I can be.”

Bentley said during retirement she plans to continue to advocate for the poor and support the Perry County Literacy Council.