Shared Leadership
The KLT staff began shifting into a shared leadership model throughout 2020 and 2021. This means that multiple staff members have been making organizational decisions collectively, co-representing our organization, and leading the areas of work that we are most interested in. Instead of the traditional top-down nonprofit structure, we have found that this democratic approach is much healthier for us and for serving our community.
We have been continuously working to improve and deepen this practice, and in late 2021 the staff and board made a collective commitment to explore ways to more formally integrate shared leadership into our organizational structure. In 2022, we are engaging in a consultant-supported process that will include restructuring, but also internal teambuilding, training in DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice), and strategic planning. Julia Farr, who became our Executive Director in early 2017, left the KLT in January of this year after passing her responsibilities to the staff Shared Leadership Team (Shaniqua Bowden and Greg Shaheen) and board Executive Committee. Click to read the press release from January.
The KLT Board of Directors is made up of community members who have made a commitment to serve the purpose of the organization. These members are recruited through an open application process and voted in by existing members of the board to fill the gaps in expertise and perspectives. We aim to continue to build a diverse board that can represent the needs of the community and help connect our work with the community that our programs are in service of. The board and staff work in collaboration to ensure the sustainability and relevance of the KLT.
