Dear colleagues,
I just wrapped up my first week as CFLeads’ new President & CEO!
I would like to express my gratitude to Sterling Speirn for his service as interim CEO, to Pedro Ramos as Board Chair and to the rest of the CFLeads’ board and staff for their warm welcome and onboarding support.
My first week included an in-person staff advance at our offices in Boston. It was wonderful getting to know the committed team members of CFLeads, with exceptional facilitation from Dr. Katrina Hutchins at Re-Source Solutions. We also used this in-person time together to start identifying priorities in our new business plan, which was developed in collaboration with the leading nonprofit consulting group, Bridgespan, and informed by the community foundation field.
I am so energized by this plan, which seeks to reach more community foundations and offer tailored learning opportunities to help support the field and strengthen community foundations’ capacity to do more community leadership.
I’m looking forward to seeing many community foundation leaders at our Fall Forum, taking place October 26-27 at Collaboratory in Fort Myers, Florida. Together, we will explore how community foundations can “lead through change” as we constantly adapt to transitions, threats, and opportunities. I am looking forward to hearing from Danielle Allen and other outstanding leaders who will be announced in the coming weeks.
I am committed to working closely with each of you to identify community foundation needs and aspirations. Please reach out to me at mthomas@cfleads.org or 617-854-3542, and I look forward to seeing you at the Fall Forum.
Sincerely,
Mary L. Thomas
