Updates on the Executive Director search

To our community,

As many of you know, Kirsten Collins has announced her departure as Executive Director this June after more than five years of guiding the success of The Circus Project. We’re incredibly grateful to Kirsten for her invaluable leadership and contributions to the local circus community.

The search process for our next Executive Director is officially underway, and I have some exciting updates to share with you! The board has hired Nonprofit Professionals Now, led by Agnes Zach, to facilitate the search process. We’re thrilled to have Agnes’ guidance and expertise as we lay the foundation for the next generation of leadership.

Following discussions with Agnes and the board, we’ve decided to bring on an Interim Executive Director before making a permanent hire. The role of the Interim Executive Director will be to evaluate processes and procedures, so that the permanent Executive Director can come into the role with a deeper understanding of the organization’s current needs and hit the ground running.

We’ve assembled a hiring committee, made up of board and staff members, who will be interviewing candidates and making recommendations to the full board. We are grateful for the input and support provided by staff in this process, and we are glad to be working collaboratively to identify our needs from all perspectives. 

We anticipate hiring the Interim Executive Director at the end of spring. The committee will then reconvene to begin the search process for a permanent Executive Director, who we expect to have in place in the fall.

This is a year of big changes for The Circus Project, and we know that change can be challenging! Fortunately, we have the time and space to approach this process equitably and be intentional about what’s needed in this next phase of our growth. We’re grateful to our incredible staff, students, donors, and community members, who continue to keep the organization thriving during this period of exciting transition!

We look forward to sharing more updates with you as the search process continues. If you have any thoughts or questions you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or our Development Manager, Mara Hussey. Both of our contact information is listed below.

With profound appreciation,

Nel Taylor
Board Chair

Nel Taylor, Board Chair: nel@oregonhunger.org
Mara Hussey, Development Manager: mara@thecircusproject.org