From Founder and Executive Director, Vanessa Grose:

I want to share some important news about changes in our Puget Soundworks leadership team. By the end of this year, I will be stepping down as the Executive Director of the organization. I will always cherish my role as the founder of this chorus, and am incredibly proud of everything that we have achieved these last four years. I am so grateful to the incredible work that this community has done to build Puget Soundworks and make it such an amazing success.

Today, I serve as ED in a part-time, volunteer capacity, in addition to my day job. As Puget Soundworks has grown and evolved, it has become clear that the organization needs more from me as the Executive Director than I have the capacity to give. As a result, I have spent the last year working together with the Board of Directors and the rest of the staff to: 

• Align broadly on roles and responsibilities across the leadership team, with support from an outside consultant
• Ensure that we hired and onboarded an exceptional Artistic Director and set her and the organization up for creative success
• Catalog current ED tasks and build a plan to offload some work to other volunteers, staff, and board members – clearly defining the new ED role scope
• Build a succession plan and prepare to launch the hiring process for a new ED

I am confident that we have done thoughtful and thorough preparation to prepare for my transition out of the leadership team, and I know that Puget Soundworks will be in good hands. The Board of Directors has officially launched the search to hire the next Executive Director for Puget Soundworks – here is the job description with more details on the role and how to apply.

The Executive Director is the chief executive of Puget Soundworks, building and executing operating strategies and plans for the organization. The ED will embrace Puget Soundworks’ mission, values, and truths, and will keep these tenets central to their personal behavior and organizational operations.

The Executive Director’s scope of responsibility includes marketing and communications, fundraising planning and execution, staff and volunteer management, audience development, external and community relations, and the overall operational, financial, and administrative management of the organization. The ED will work closely with the Board of Directors to ensure strong fiscal health and effective governance. In partnership with the Artistic Director and the Board, the ED will guide the growth, public image, and increased brand awareness of Puget Soundworks.

This is an exciting time for Puget Soundworks, and I am excited to see the organization grow to a point where we need and can sustain more staff to drive our mission:  making the world a kinder, more inclusive place, one song at a time.