[Image description: A blue sky with grayish-white clouds. Rays of sunlight break through the clouds.]
Note: This announcement was originally posted on May 2, 2024 via our monthly newsletter.
Dear CompassPoint Community,
We’re writing to let you know that after 7 years of leadership in multiple roles at CompassPoint, Co-Executive Director Asha Mehta has transitioned from the organization and will be prioritizing her independent liberatory consulting practice. We appreciate the impact Asha has left on our organization and are confident that her work as a leadership development practitioner will continue to inspire and influence BIPOC leaders toward more bold and imaginative approaches to leadership.
We also want to take a moment to acknowledge that this is the second woman-of-color Co-Executive Director to transition from the organization within a short period of time, not long after we announced our shift to a three-person Co-ED model. We want to be honest and transparent in sharing that the last several years have been a challenging time at CompassPoint: shifting to a co-executive model while also grappling with deep questions of organizational identity; navigating the transition from predominantly white women and men of color in formal leadership roles, to growing leadership among Black women, other women of color, trans and nonbinary folks across the organization; not to mention dismantling and reimagining several internal management structures to more deeply embody our values around radical imagination, equity, and community care—these are no small undertakings. Just tackling one of these challenges, let alone all three, is a tall order, particularly in the larger context of working towards liberation in the midst of the overlapping social, political, economic, public health, and environmental crises we are collectively living through.
It’s been a lot all at once, to say the least. Among other unintended consequences, it’s contributed to some glass cliff dynamics at CompassPoint (a phenomenon whereby people with marginalized identities are brought into leadership positions during times of organizational distress).
As a staff and board, we are deeply reflecting on the lessons learned as we navigate this time of change and transition. We are accountable and committed to sharing our reflections and insights to our community throughout this year, as we know much of what we’re experiencing is not unique to CompassPoint.
CompassPoint remains grateful for Asha’s strong visionary leadership and the significant contributions she made to our organization during a critical period of our transformation. We have benefitted and continue to benefit from her creative, dynamic influence on our programming and will miss the humor, heart, and passion she put into her work with us.
That being said, CompassPoint has a tremendous team with the vision, commitment, creativity, and passion to drive this next phase of our organization. We look forward to working together to plan what’s next for CompassPoint and will continue to be in dialogue with you all.
In solidarity,
The CompassPoint Team
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