After being with KMHS for four years, serving first as Development Director and later as CFO and then COO, Monica has accepted the board’s offer to move into the CEO role. In speaking about the opportunity Monica stated, “I'm really excited. The CEO prior to me, Joe Roszak, has left quite a legacy to follow. I don't see us doing something completely new. What I see us doing is really building on a lot of the great initiatives that have already started here.” 

​The most shocking part about that excerpt is that the article was written in January of 2020. This goes to show that rapid change in the nonprofit space was happening long before the pandemic hit. And in today’s post-COVID world, change has only accelerated further.

In fact, recent research from Ernst & Young in collaboration with Oxford University indicates that 85% of senior leaders have been involved in two or more major organizational transformations over the last 5 years, with 67% of those surveyed indicating that at least one of the transformations they have been a part of has underperformed relative to expectations. 

One reason for limited outcomes from these efforts is that they have softened the topic itself and uncomfortable discussions around it by bundling it all into a bumper-sticker of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Instead, if we want to achieve authentic DEI outcomes, we need to talk about racism, identify it in our organizations, and address it systemically as a structural, procedural, and cultural issue.

There is a common misconception that “Nonprofit work doesn’t pay.” And while it is definitely true that an individual’s lifetime earnings are typically higher in the private sector than in the public sector, that does not mean that nonprofit work does not pay at all, or that equity and market demands cannot or should not be considered.
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Sure, there are plenty of instances where nonprofit staff are making far less than they should, given the high cost of living in the metropolitan areas where their nonprofit organizations are based. However, nonprofit organizations that are doing it right should be paying their employees a comfortable wage to equip them to do the kind of important work that protects their communities and the world at large. And the self-fulfillment that they garner along the way should be an added bonus on top of their compensation, not a substitute for it.  

What is performative diversity? Performative diversity is when an organization advocates and affirms a commitment to DEI but takes no practical actions towards achieving it.
 
Moving past affirmations and into action requires thoughtful, proactive, and concrete steps to foster a workplace that genuinely values a broadly diverse workforce. One of the most critical processes to examine and improve is your hiring practices, policies, and approach. The way your organization approaches hiring the Executive Director sets the tone for DEI in the rest of the organization. It also sends a message about how serious your Board is about equity.
 
As you begin to navigate your upcoming leadership transition, here is a list of some practices your organization can adopt that builds towards a more equitable, transparent, and human-centric hiring process.

The Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS) is pleased to announce that they have hired Dr. Chiyo Crawford as their next Executive Director. Chiyo’s extensive professional experience, personal background, and thoughtful leadership style make her an excellent fit for the role. ECOSS Board President, Tisha Pagalilauan, has stated, 

We congratulate them and wish them much success in all their future endeavors!