Jennifer Vargesko-Burgess, has joined Caron Bermuda as the director of operations, the centre announced last week.

Ms Vargesko-Burgess will act as a Bermuda point of contact for clients entering the Caron treatment system as well as for clients re-entering the country into the Bermuda Continuing Care programme.

She will also be responsible for overseeing the alignment of Caron Bermuda with the policies and procedures of Caron Treatment Centres as well as with the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accreditation standards.

Additionally, Ms Vargesko-Burgess will act as a case manager for both individuals and family members in connecting with both local and overseas recovery options.

"I'm thrilled to be working with Caron on an area close to my heart," said Ms Vargesko-Burgess. "I've known many people who have struggled with the disease of addiction and really appreciate the opportunity to give back to the people of Bermuda."

She also spent five months interning at The Family Centre where she participated in programmes aimed at increasing knowledge of parenting skills and improving the quality of the parent/child relationship. For the past eight months, she worked part-time facilitating a weekly continuing care group at Caron Bermuda.

Ms Vargesko-Burgess completed a masters degree in counselling psychology as of December 2007. Vargesko-Burgess, who is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), previously spent 13 years with the public accounting firm KPMG in Pittsburgh and Bermuda where she was responsible for the US tax compliance and consulting needs of a portfolio of clients and for providing US tax assistance to the audit team.

She also spent five months working as a senior analyst at the Bermuda Monetary Authority where she was responsible for supervising, regulating and overseeing entities registered as insurers in Bermuda. Ms Vargesko-Burgess is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bermuda and is a volunteer for the Bermuda Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.