Perry's Transition Letter
Dear friends -
It is with many emotions that I write to you with the news that I have decided to transition out of my leadership role as a Still Harbor Senior Partner into a new role as Chair of the Still Harbor Board of Directors. Mixed emotions of grief and joy, of trust and uncertainty, and probably feelings I’ve yet to recognize.
I made this decision a few months ago as demands in my personal life surfaced a sense of clarity that I need fewer jobs and more boundaries around my time. Since 2018, I have worked hard to usher Still Harbor into deeper alignment with principles and values of collective leadership, justice, healing, and liberation. This past year, I’ve been buoyed by the fruits of this labor, serving with Marchaé Grair and Lauren Spahn in ways that radically honor what it means to live these values through daily reflection and action. I am deeply grateful to their leadership and know that Still Harbor will thrive in this transition because of the culture and programs we’ve created together.
Still Harbor is an organization that serves at the intersection of spirituality and social justice. We support a network of spiritual leaders in cultivating the gifts of spiritual presence and wisdom in support of our collective liberation from violence and injustice. As I make this transition, I trust fully in the leadership that Marchaé Grair, Nathan Bakken, and Lauren Spahn will bring to the organization in the coming year. The three of them have been my teachers. It will be an honor for me to work with a growing Board of Directors to find ways to continue to amplify the impact of the vision that Marchaé and Nathan bring to Still Harbor.
I’ve been reflecting this week on a John O’Donohue poem, “Fluent”. It is a poem I have visited regularly over the past ten years that I’ve been working to build and lead Still Harbor. And yet, it is more visceral for me today perhaps than it has ever been.
There is no greater gift than to work with people who know the importance of affirming our personal and collective unfolding. Still Harbor is an organization that will continue to live into its unfolding as an organization, flowing ever more fully into alignment with the call for liberation that is deeply rooted in the sacred wisdom of nature and mystery. Our social movements need the healers, accompaniers, and spiritual guides formed and supported by Still Harbor. Marchaé and Nathan hold a vision, a praxis, that will ensure Still Harbor’s network of spiritual leaders tend to our movements with soul, integrity, and grace.
Thank you,
Perry
PS: If you are interested in how our Board of Directors works or the questions I’m carrying as I take on the role of Chair of the Board, please be in touch.