Announcement of Executive Director transition:
Dear Puget Sound Sage community:
Over seven years ago, I walked into the doors of Puget Sound Sage as a policy analyst during a time when Seattle hadn’t yet passed a local labor law and had no labor standards enforcement infrastructure, had minimal infrastructure to prevent displacement, and hadn’t yet prioritized environmental justice.
As I look back on the work that thousands of people made possible, I cannot help but be awed by the work we did together.
However, after over a decade of working nearly 70 hours to fight for change – my health, well-being and relationships have suffered. A former Sage Community Leadership Institute alumnus, Laurie Torres, once told me that organizers have something to learn from how emperor penguins survive the long winter by huddling for warmth and taking turns facing the harsh winter. They said, I think movement work can be like this too and I believe they were right.
Over the past few years of working to build up dozens of other leaders in our work, I have learned that we all need to take a step back at some point or another to create space for new leaders to grow.
So, after much reflecting on my best use in this work, I have decided that I should move on from my role as the Executive Director of Puget Sound Sage in January 2020 to a new role as a Senior Development Manager supporting our national network, The Partnership for Working Families.
All national work starts at the local level – and to see the changes we really need – it’s time to make space for new leadership in our movement. As I look at what Puget Sound Sage is today, and the people I have had the joy of working with, I see a leaderful organization of mindful and committed people who are building the infrastructure our movement needs to see positive change and doing the hard work it takes to change culture and policy at the same time.
Puget Sound Sage is also an incredibly fun place to work – I am going to miss the team and the board. I cannot imagine a more flexible, loving, and experimental place to work. However, loving a job as much as I have loved the work at Sage can become consuming and I do not want to model martyrdom.
With that, I am staying in Seattle, continuing to support Puget Sound Sage’s mission and work, but in a new way that will allow some time for family, rest and modeling the changes I hope to see in the world. I hope to see you in community.
In Solidarity,
Nicole Vallestero Keenan-Lai
A note on behalf of the Board of Directors:
Today is a bittersweet moment, as we announce the departure of Puget Sound Sage’s Executive Director, Nicole Vallestero Keenan-Lai.
Nicole has played a critical role in the development and success of the organization over the past seven years. We will deeply miss her and her leadership. We wish her much success as she embraces her new role as the Senior Development Manager with Puget Sound Sage’s national network, the Partnership for Working Families.
Since Nicole started with Puget Sound Sage back in November 2012, she has played many key roles in our work: Research & Policy Analyst who helped win living wages for workers at SeaTac Airport; Policy Director where she developed the research and framing for Seattle’s $15 Minimum Wage Ordinance; initiator of Sage’s Climate Justice Program; co-founder of the Fair Work Center which leads community implementation of local labor laws; and, ultimately stepping into the role of Executive Director at Sage in the fall of 2017.
Puget Sound Sage has grown in many ways over the past several years.
In 2017, Puget Sound Sage had eight full-time staff and a budget of just over $700,000 and has grown to an organization with 15 full-time staff and a budget of over $2 million. The organization has moved (twice!) into their current location in a beautiful new office across from Hing Hay Park in the International District.
And while there is never a good time to say goodbye, the organization is poised to handle the transition due to the steady leadership of Sage’s staff and board of directors, the financial health of the organization, and the incredible support of Puget Sound Sage’s individual donors, foundation supporters, and community partners who make this all possible.
This past month, we have taken time as a staff and board to reflect on lessons learned from previous transitions in order to ensure we’re taking mindful, measured steps as we move forward.
Based on our discussions, we have chosen to move forward with hiring an Interim Executive Director early next year.
Our goal is to work with the Interim Executive Director as we prepare for our strategic planning process during this transitional period. Investing in our long-term visioning and relationships is and always will be critical to moving the most effective, sustainable, and transformative work possible.
We will keep you updated as we move forward with this process. If you have any questions, please reach out at mramos@thechurchcouncil.org. We’re so grateful to have your support as together we build healthy, joyful, and just communities for generations to come.
Sincerely,
Michael Ramos, Board President