Dear Friend,

It is with deep gratitude and fondness for his leadership, contributions, and dedication that we accept the news of our Executive Director, Larry Lee's intention to step down from his position and help the agency find a new leader to continue the extraordinary growth that Womankind (formerly the New York Asian Women's Center) has experienced during his tenure. Womankind is in the fortunate position that Larry will stay with us for as long as it takes for our next leader to be chosen.

We are pleased to report that the Womankind Board has a solid succession plan in place, comprised of a board-hired executive search firm (Stephen-Bradford Search) and an executive leadership transition team, which will include members of our Board and stakeholder communities. This committee will oversee the transition process with Larry and spearhead the selection process for Womankind's next executive leader in the weeks and months to come.

For the last 10 years, Larry has led the agency through an unprecedented period of tremendous growth and impact. Under Larry's direction, the agency doubled in budget size to over $6 million as did the number of staff. With Larry's visionary leadership, Womankind has developed a comprehensive roster of services and programs benefitting Asian survivors of gender-based violence. Larry has also led the agency through challenging growing pains with vision, grit and optimism. Most recently, he shepherded staff through a rebranding process that birthed our new name, Womankind, simultaneously heralding an enhanced focus on advocacy alongside our direct services.

Larry says, "Most people know that I love Womankind. It is a remarkable agency with brilliant staff and a dedicated Board. Most importantly, we have embraced being as truly survivor-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally-capable as possible. After 10 years, I am leaving to pursue a less demanding role, starting a consulting firm specializing in development, management, program design and marketing. I look forward to working with the Board to find the next leader of this incredible organization."

Womankind Board Chair, Karen Elizaga, says, "Larry has achieved so much on so many fronts-from expanding our programming and staffing to finding the resources to support our growing agency. I remain in awe of and celebrate some of the best things about Larry-his intelligence, heart, humor, and creativity-the qualities with which he brought many of our collective dreams to life. We are grateful for his leadership and commitment to our cause."

Sincerely,

Womankind Board of Directors