Search Committee announces new search firm; timeline of activities to date

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(Posted on September 22, 2017)

RACC is pleased to announce that it has retained Koya Leadership Partners as search firm for our Executive Director search.

After conducting our recent search firm RFP, Koya was the unanimous selection of our search committee for multiple reasons including:

  • Track record in placing leaders in mission-driven organizations
  • Experience conducting searches for public arts agencies
  • Alignment with RACC on equity, diversity and inclusion

RACC will be working with Koya’s Los Angeles office. Koya managing director Michelle Bonoan will be leading the search, and will be visiting Portland September 27-29 and meeting with dozens of stakeholders as part of Koya’s intake process.

We expect that the Executive Director job posting will be open for applications sometime in October.

The following is a recap of the RACC Search Committee’s activities to-date:

  • February
    • RACC Executive Committee discussion of need to form search committee
    • Search Committee appointed
    • 1st search firm RFP issued
  • March
    • Search Committee members finalized
    • Received initial search firm responses to RFPs
    • Search Committee review of Search Firm submissions
  • April
    • RACC Stakeholder online survey
    • Search Firm interviews
    • Aspen Leadership selected as initial search firm
  • May
    • Aspen Leadership conducts staff and community stakeholder interviews
    • Jeff Hawthorne identified as Interim Director
    • Search committee agrees on competencies needed in ED and drafts job description
  • June
    • Added Jenny M. Chu as Search Committee member
    • Search Committee Equity, Diversity & Inclusion offsite facilitated by Judith Mowry from the City of Portland’s Office of Equity and Human Rights.
    • Arts Workers for Equity (AWE) Stakeholder Committee met with members of Search Committee
    • Group of approximately 20 arts organizations sends letter to Search Committee requesting involvement in search process, identifies Paul King of White Bird as liason to search committee.
  • July
    • Jeff Hawthorne begins Interim Executive Director role
    • Search committee agrees on job description
    • Aspen Leadership and RACC part ways.
  • August
    • Search Committee and RACC staff identify approximately twenty search firms worth considering.
    • Search Committee issues RFP to approximately eight search firms.
    • Six proposals received and three firms identified as finalists. Finalists interviewed.
  • September
    • New Search Firm selected: Koya Leadership Partners