Janet Barnett, deputy director, Arts, Marketing and Special Services, Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks, & Cultural Activities, has been named the new executive director of Senior Services of Alexandria. She will commence her new duties in late October, according to Carl D. Behnke, president, SSA.
Barnett succeeds Eileen Longstreet who resigned as SSA's executive director as of June 29 after three years in that role. Prior to SSA Longstreet had a 35-year career in the health insurance and managed care industry.
Barnett began her career with Alexandria City government as a director at the John Adams Recreation Center. She has also served as Special Events Coordinator for RP&CA with responsibilities for planning and implementing city-wide special events such as the annual Jazz Festival, Festival of the Arts, parades, and ethic festivals.
In 1985, Barnett served as the first director of the Chinquapin Park Recreation Center. As an RP&CA deputy director, she managed after school programs, recreation classes, senior programs, and the department's cultural arts programs and marketing endeavors.
"I am very pleased that Ms. Barnett will be joining SSA. Her strong planning and business skills, together with excellent leadership and interpersonal skills, will be a tremendous asset to SSA in delivering quality services to seniors in Alexandria," said Behnke.
Barnett graduated from Hammond High School and holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Maryland and a Master's Degree from Central Michigan University. She has served on the Board of Directors of Indiana University's Executive Development Program and the Virginia Recreation and Parks Society.
Barnett and her husband Kenneth reside in Alexandria with their son Louis, a senior at T.C. Williams High School. Their daughter Susan is a teacher with the Philadelphia public school system.
Senior Services of Alexandria provides an array of services to elderly and shut-in city residents including free employment counseling and placement, home care referrals, Meals On Wheels, and the Senior Taxi Program. Through the latter, SSA arranged 73,000 trips for medical appointments and grocery runs last year. It also delivered 45,757 meals to homebound seniors and disabled.