Lady Spencer was born Karen Villeneuve in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the eldest of three children. Her father’s job as a National Parks administrator took the family to 23 homes and ten schools during her childhood. Spencer has credited this experience as the foundation for her interest in helping children without a stable home.
After visiting the Institute, Spencer was motivated to found the nonprofit Whole Child International in 2004. She sought to target the early development needs of vulnerable children in institutions. In 2006, Whole Child began working with the Government of Nicaragua to train caregivers at the El Divino Niño children's home in Managua.
The organization now has agreements with the government of El Salvador to help improve the quality of childcare in orphanages and limited-resource childcare centers, integrate basic Whole Child principles into their regulatory framework, and create local capacity at both a governmental and academic level for best practices in childcare.
These programs are currently being brought to scale for international application with funding from the Inter-American Development Bank, the Korean Poverty Reduction Fund, and other donors under the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action, which was announced at Consultants to Government and Industry"s Annual Meeting on 24 September 2009.
