Dear Friends, Donors, and Volunteers,
I hope this message finds you well. After spending a considerable amount of time thinking and reflecting for the past six months and seeking guidance from my family, friends, mentors, and colleagues, I have arrived at a difficult decision to step down from my position as the President and CEO of HumanKind. This decision was made to prioritize my role as a mother and pursue other professional opportunities. Everything has a season and a time for every purposeful action. It’s time for a change in my career, for my family, and for the organization.
I am leaving with a full heart, knowing that we have achieved the goals we set out to accomplish six years ago when I started at HumanKind. We created a 25-year plan to expand and upgrade our campus and facilities rooted in program outcomes. As part of this plan, we have completed several projects, with The Studios being the most notable. We have purchased property to enclose our campus, cleaned up surrounding properties, and made numerous improvements to enhance the overall experience for both those we serve and the community at large. We have successfully completed several three-year organizational plans. During the process, we identified areas for improvement in our programming and addressed a variety of deficiencies. Hiring new and talented staff helped us to bring existing and new programming to its fullest potential, despite having to also navigate a global pandemic. Additionally, we have expanded our donor and volunteer base, and rebranded our organization to strongly align our name, mission, vision, and values. As a result, HumanKind has become one of the largest, most comprehensive, and most trusted homeless service providers in our region. Through it all, HumanKind has received national recognition for its unique holistic approach and has brought the social, economic, and humanitarian issues of homelessness to the forefront. We have stirred new conversations with city, county, and state officials that will, I believe, bring our community to functional zero within a few years.
Our team, board of directors, and everyone involved in our organization have played a significant role in our growth and success. Again, I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished together. I would like to thank you all for your unwavering support, which has allowed me to grow our organization, thus positively impacting thousands of individuals and families in our community; because of you, they found hope, healing, and housing. As we move into a new phase of our strategic plan, it feels like a new season is about to begin, and it is a natural progression for us to find my successor. We are now seeing the fruits of our labor and it is the perfect opportunity for HumanKind to appoint a new leader who can take charge of the remaining part of our strategic plan. HumanKind is on the brink of an exciting period of growth, and this is the ideal moment for a transition.
Our national search for a new CEO is underway. I will remain on as CEO until June 1, when we expect the new leader to take over. I am deeply committed to making this a seamless transition and expect to move forward without missing a beat. Over the next few months, I will be at the forefront to keep our momentum going as HumanKind moves forward.
I have had the pleasure of working with outstanding board members, colleagues, donors, volunteers, and partner agencies. I cherish the friendships I have made and want to express my sincere gratitude to each one of you. Moving forward, I will continue to participate in discussions on innovative ways to support our community’s most vulnerable residents. I will always be a supporter of HumanKind and the essential work it does for the community. Again, I want to thank you all for your unwavering support of our team and your dedication to our mission.
I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what the future holds for HumanKind and the fantastic work that will be done to keep pushing our community forward.
My heartfelt appreciation,
LaTasha St. Arnault
President/CEO
