I wanted to share an update about our search for Pride Foundation’s next CEO.
We are so pleased to have received an overwhelmingly positive response, both from candidates applying for consideration as well as partners offering to share the position profile with their networks.
While this clearly means that Pride Foundation is well-positioned to find an incredible person to be our next leader, it has also necessarily resulted in the search process taking longer than originally planned. We now expect that there will be a period of time between when our current CEO, Kris Hermanns, completes her service in this role at the end of August, and when our new CEO joins us full time.
Thankfully, we have a transitional plan in place that will ensure the continuity of our current work and provide stability at this important juncture, while allowing us to continue to be intentional and thoughtful in our search for our next CEO.
To lead through this transitional period, Pride Foundation’s Board of Directors has selected Katie Carter, our current Director of Strategic Priorities, to step into the role of Acting CEO starting September 1st.
Katie has been with the foundation for nearly five years, working closely with Kris across all areas of the organization, and brings the capabilities and leadership to support Pride Foundation during this time. I have been particularly impressed by Katie’s leadership through some of the exciting but significant changes Pride Foundation has experienced over the past few years, from our merger with Equity Foundation, to the establishment of several key institutional funding partnerships, to the re-envisioning of our strategic plan and integration of our racial equity focus.
She will work with our management team and Board to ensure that all of our work keeps moving forward, and that there is a seamless transition when our next CEO joins us later this year.
We are grateful for your ongoing support of Pride Foundation, and we are excited about what the future holds. We welcome any questions you might have and you can reach us at: executivecommittee@pridefoundation.org.
Wakefield is Pride Foundation Board President.