Impact: Jubilee Women’s Center
Organization Overview
Jubilee Women’s Center opened in the fall of 1983 and is believed to be Seattle’s first transitional home for women. Jubilee offers residents a supportive housing community in which to heal from crisis and domestic abuse and get back on their feet.
Jubilee Women’s Center supports women experiencing poverty to build stable and fulfilling futures, one extraordinary woman at a time.
Led by the guiding principle that women of all races and cultures are to be treated with respect and dignity, Jubilee provides programs and services that empower women to make positive life changes.
The Challenge
Jubilee has had strong and stable leadership over 40+ years of serving women in their community. In November of 2023, the Executive Director notified the Jubilee board that she would be stepping down at the end of December.
- Leadership during the pandemic– After Jubilee’s former Executive Director departed following a nearly a 9-year tenure, the board hired a new leader who stepped in as the pandemic began. She relocated to Seattle for the role and successfully supported the organization but chose to relocate to be closer to family.
- Critical Fundraising Support – The organization has deep roots in Capitol Hill in the Seattle area. Many local donors have been connected to the mission, and the board knew that maintaining relationships through the transition and hiring a strong fundraising leader in the Executive Director role was key to success.
- Continued Program Delivery – During the transition, Jubilee needed to continue to provide critical program support and engagement for the women they serve.
The Valtas Approach
Board chair Rosemary Dunigan put full trust and faith in the Valtas team to find just the right set of solutions. Two members of the Jubilee board had worked with Valtas at other nonprofits and knew that the team would be key partners to guide the transition.
Interim Executive Leadership
Liz Swanson was selected from the Valtas consulting team to step in to the Interim role. She worked closely with the outgoing Executive Director and the Jubilee board and staff to get up to speed quicky.
Executive Search
Ed Rogan led the search team through an effective and efficient search, listening deeply to what the Jubilee board and staff needed, and looking broadly to find just the right mix of candidates. The search was completed and the new leader started within 4 months.
Coaching and Support
Liz Swanson provided ongoing coaching and support over the summer of 2024 to ensure that Elisabeth Jarrard was well positioned for success in her new role.
The Outcome
The Jubilee Women’s Center Board of Directors welcomed Elisabeth Jarrard to the organization as its new Executive Director in May of 2024. In just under 5 months, the Valtas team collaborated to step into Interim leadership, stabilize and support staff, board and programs, launch the search and successfully find the next leader.
Stable and Steady Leadership
The board and staff praised Liz Swanson for her steady hand, supporting the staff and board through this time of transition with skill, grace and effectiveness.
The Ideal Candidate
Elisabeth Jarrard brought extensive experience in the affordable housing and emergency services provider sectors. Her depth of knowledge in fundraising, human resources, and human services was exactly what Jubilee needed.
Leadership Capacity Building
As a first time Executive Director, Elisabeth Jarrard brought great skills and experience to her new role. Having access to Liz Swanson for support during her onboarding, and her role as a strategic advisor for the first few months proved to be invaluable.
Client Perspective
Thank you for asking about our experience with the Executive Director search and Interim Executive Director placement at Jubilee. We were absolutely thrilled in both respects.
Liz Swanson was everything we could have hoped for in an Interim. She was warm, supportive, pragmatic, calm and an effective leader to both the staff and Board. I really appreciated that she not only kept operations running but helped us assess Jubilee’s strengths and weaknesses and make plans for improvement in the future. She brought great big-picture perspective of nonprofit best practices which helped the Board think about Jubilee in broader terms and set us up for optimal operations as a Board and an organization.
Liz has also been very helpful in onboarding our new Executive Director and supporting her through the process. The fact that we asked to have her stay on as a consultant to our new Executive Director is testament to how much we value her knowledge and skills.
We were also very happy with the Executive Director search process. Ed and Emily were well organized and helped steer our search committee through the process efficiently and quickly, as we desired. We are delighted with our final choice in Elisabeth Jarrard.
Thanks again to you and everyone at Valtas for your expertise and support through this process.
Rosemary Dunigan
Board President
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