If you see Carla O'Malley on her daily walk through Hidden Lake with her beloved Labradoodle and her pace seems particularly brisk, it's because she's a woman on a mission. Or, more to the point, she's a woman WITH a mission. That mission is all about healing: healing her own past by ensuring generations to come have access to the resources she never did.

A Michigan native, Carla has always had a passion for service. It's what drew her to a long and fruitful career in healthcare, which has spanned decades. After graduating from Mercy High School, Carla received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Madonna University. She worked as a nurse for Wayne County General Hospital for several years. Eventually, she realized her passion was in helping hospitals succeed, and transitioned, with the help of a Master's Degree from the University of Michigan, to healthcare administration.

For more than two decades, Carla held high-level positions in healthcare organizations, including Chief Operating Officer of Oakwood Hospital and Senior Vice President for Development of Oakwood Foundation, where she helped raise more than $150 million to benefit a four-hospital system. Eager to continue her service on a slightly different platform, she made a slight career turn in the nonprofit world, spending several years as Vice President for Philanthropy and Campaigns for the Autism Alliance of Michigan.

With her years of experience fundraising on behalf of organizations, including a particular savvy with major gifts, planned giving, and event planning, Carla now proudly serves on the board of LACASA, a Livingston County nonprofit serving victims of child abuse, domestic violence, and sexual assault, as well as providing prevention and awareness programs countywide. As part of her vision, she's one of the driving forces behind creating what will become an annual event: the LACASA Gala, debuting this October 11, with a Roaring 20s theme.

"By telling our story through the eyes of survivors, we have the opportunity to have more people get involved with LACASA. We can show the impact of our work, raise more money, and have more fun doing it!" she said.

But Carla's life hasn't been a constant stream of good times and success. In fact, it's also been marked by profound pain and relentless rebuilding. After 43 years of marriage and raising two children together, Carla's beloved husband, Michael, lost his battle with cancer in 2015, and she found herself wracked with grief. That very grief led her out of the Detroit metro area in 2016 and to her new home in Hidden Lake.

Hidden Lake was familiar territory for Carla, as her two brothers were the neighborhood developers and lived here as well. Craving the comfort of family, she quickly signed the dotted line and purchased the model detached condo right from the builder.

Around the same time, a friend suggested she attend a grief group at New Hope Center in Northville. "I felt ready—it had been two years, and I had finally accepted that my husband wasn't coming back, and it was time for me to find a way to move forward." Little did she know, Carla would meet her future husband in that 8-week course.

"We were encouraged to attend the class by the same person. That very week, we had both prayed that we might find someone to ease our loneliness," Carla recalls. Their prayers were answered. Carla and Gil Martinez, who had also lost his first spouse to cancer, sat next to each other that first night at New Hope. A few months later, they had their first date at Brighton Bar and Grill on Main Street in downtown Brighton, and he eventually brought her back there to propose.

The two were married in 2022 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Brighton in a ceremony that united their large and loving families. Their combined six children and 16 grandchildren, ranging in age from one to 21, refer to themselves as the "Step Cousins" in an active family text thread and enjoy spending time together for holidays and family trips.

But grief wasn't the only journey Carla needed to complete. A survivor of childhood sexual assault, she finally found the resources and the help she needed to work through that trauma in her 30s, thanks to the loving care of her former high school counselor from Mercy High. The ordeal she survived as a child changed her forever, but so too did her healing journey. "No one believed me as a child. I told a teacher, I told my priest, and nobody helped. When I was finally heard, it made all the difference. I committed myself to making sure others would have access to the resources I didn't," she said.

Carla's mother had always been active with First Step, a nonprofit agency in Wayne County that provides comprehensive services for victims of domestic and sexual violence. Carla followed in her footsteps, putting her vast experience in raising money for nonprofits to good use during her tenure as board president and naming the children's playground after her late husband. She even recruited a third generation, with her niece becoming an active volunteer with the organization. With so much of her time, talent, and treasure invested in the organization and the cause, Carla made the difficult decision to step down from the board when she left the area, wanting to find more local causes to support.

When she moved to Hidden Lake and began to get involved in community activities and make new friends, fate intervened once again as her next-door neighbor, Judy Herzog, a longtime LACASA board member (and along with her husband and son, the presenting sponsor of this year's Gala), told her about the LACASA organization. Carla took a tour, and the deal was sealed.

"This is the best-run, most comprehensive organization I have ever seen. With 35 different programs and services, including a crisis shelter and counseling, all under one roof, it's just phenomenal. The staff is amazing. The board is active. The president and CEO, Bobette Schrandt, is a force. The coordination of services is extraordinary," she said of LACASA.

With her passion and conviction, Carla has played a vital role in LACASA's capital campaign, helping raise the funds needed to break ground on a new, expanded, state-of-the-art facility on Tooley Road in Howell. She beamed with pride in December as operations moved to the new LACASA Center.

"It took my breath away to see what we were providing for these families," she said. "The welcome wall in the new shelter says it all for me: You're safe. We're here for you. This is your new journey."

While Carla's personal journey has been one of pain and loss, she's quick to focus on how it's also been filled with love and luck. Rather than dwelling in the dark, she's choosing to give back as a way of healing her own wounds, including her support of LACASA's Childhood Abuse Response Effort (CARE) project, through which a team of multidisciplinary professionals conducts forensic interviews in a way that minimizes trauma to the child.

After all she has endured, Carla is eager to share the joy she's found: the joy of new love, renewed purpose, and deep conviction. And she's more than ready to cut a rug for a good cause at the LACASA Gala.

"I really believe that can become THE thing to do in Livingston County."

Get ready to glam up and have a Let's make it an evening filled with laughter, elegance, and plenty of surprises. Get your tickets now, and let the good times roll! A night to remember at the LACASA Gala - Bourbon, Bowties, and Boas! Save the date for Friday, October 11, 2024, at 6 pm. Tickets are selling quickly, so take advantage of your chance to join the fun. Secure your spot for $150 per person, or gather your friends for a table of 10 at $1500. For more details and reservations, contact Mary Pittman at 248-866-8743 or Savita Monroe at 734-846-8047. Visit lacasacenter.org to get all the juicy details! It will be an evening filled with laughter, elegance, and plenty of surprises. Get your tickets now, and let the good times roll!