resigning from the nonprofit industrial complex

WFGC Board & Advisors,

This letter is to serve as official notice of my resignation from the position of Executive Director effective immediately. 

I have executed my role as Executive Director in accordance with My Guiding Principles (shared with members of the Board during my 90 day vision casting) and in direct alignment with the duties and responsibilities outlined in the job description. However, despite my best efforts, issues of personal interests, lack of open communication, insinuation without consideration, and constant microaggressions explicitly revealed the true values of those controlling the narrative and decision making within this organization.

My painful reality for nearly three years has been that I was not set up for success from the start of my tenure. In retrospect, large organizational challenges like inheriting a budget deficit, a leadership team void of vision or understanding of true advocacy, and antiquated funding strategies seem insignificant compared to the continued lack of support, the consistent questioning, and undermining of my authority (per WFGC approved policies and controls) in both active and passive ways at the hands of WFGC Board and chosen network of influencers. 

Board chairs have lacked accountability, agreed upon communication processes have not been followed, and performance reviews have lacked depth, been incomplete and biased. In both covert and overt ways, my attempts to facilitate the co-creation of an affirming and healthy environment within the WFGC ecosystem were dismissed and trivialized. With each year, as the board’s voice and leadership has shifted there has been a constant structural and philosophical void, which I explicitly named along with solutions, during my performance reviews.

I have remained committed to the true mission of this organization, and the emerging vision in which The Community has been actively co-creating, because I deeply believe in a Tennessee where all women and girls can thrive. Unfortunately, the Women’s Fund of Greater Chattanooga continues to uphold many of the same principles of white supremacy culture creating the very issues we publicly seek to eliminate, all masked as progressive feminism. 

This most recent demonstration of lack of trust in me and my ability to make sound decisions coupled with attempted shame (language such as “I’m disappointed in you”) confirmed that my impact and contributions to this work are not valued in the ways they deserve nor are my values aligned with the greater power structures crafting both public and hidden narratives. When given a chance to support the most vulnerable populations within our "target demographic," my every step was questioned, despite a series of active exploratory conversations before the decision was made to launch the pilot, despite my voluntary transparency, and despite my proven track record of resilience and success.