Hello, Maritime Friends!
I hope your holidays were wonderful and that you are eeking every last bit of cheer out of the season: wringing the carton for the last drops of eggnog, triaging which unwanted gifts to return and which to regift, awkwardly lingering under a browning mistletoe for the dwindling chance of one last holiday hurrah. However you’re winding down the season, I hope it’s going well.
For me, the turn of the calendar is always a time of reflection. This one feels especially big. Fifteen years ago—on January 1, 2011—I started my first day as the freshly minted Executive Director of Northwest Maritime. At 34, I was the youngest of our 11 staff, and we all rattled around inside a newly constructed facility that felt HUGE compared to our activity level; at the time, we were essentially a festival with a handful of school and summer programs. I remember walking around the empty buildings wondering how we would ever use all of the space, let alone survive financially. What a difference 15 years makes! Staff of 60+, programs bursting at the seams, expanded offerings throughout the region, and while non-profits rarely reach “blue chip” levels of sustainability, we are doing better than most.
Reading the last paragraph, I realize it may sound like the reflections of someone who is moving on. Sorry, I’m not doing that, but I am taking a bit of a break. Specifically, a six-month sabbatical that has been in the works for over seven years. (I was supposed to take one in 2020. Best laid plans…)
I’ll be on sabbatical and off email for six months, beginning March 1 and returning in time for the Wooden Boat Festival. Huzzah!
You may have some questions:
What are you going to do for six months?
The plan is still coming together, but it involves boats. Quite likely buying one and then casting off for sailing and exploration—just living the mission for six months. Could be here/Alaska, could be points more distant, still coming together. There’s a survey on a potential boat (and resulting cruising direction) scheduled in a couple of weeks. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
How will it work? Aren’t you invaluable?
How nice of you to say so, but things are going to be just fine.
One of the things I am most proud of is how solid our team is. With respect to people and processes, we have come a long way in building organizational effectiveness and resiliency over the past 15 years. This team is incredible.
Starting with our Chief Operating Officer, Katie Oman, and all the way through, our staff is filled with intelligent, motivated, and hardworking people who work really well together and are more than ready to step up and absorb pieces of my job for the next six months.
Katie Oman will serve as Interim CEO. Campus Director Kate Philbrick will assume a share of Katie’s organization-wide operational responsibilities, and various other staff members will similarly step into increased responsibility during my sabbatical. We’ve been working through the operational details for over a year—and because Katie has been involved, there are flowcharts, timelines, and everything! Things are going to go better than fine—I just hope they want me back (kidding, not kidding).
Is it normal for non-profits to offer sabbaticals?
It would be a stretch to say normal, but it is a growing practice. There’s an emerging body of research that indicates there’s a big benefit to retention and effectiveness that comes with sabbaticals. (Here’s a recent article if you want to nerd out on the state of sabbaticals in the nonprofit sector.) Fifteen years is a long time to be anywhere, and the chance to unplug from the day-to-day, reconnect with the mission, get perspective, get recharged, and think big thoughts feels like oxygen. I have such gratitude for the Board bringing this idea forward back in 2017—and for their support for it along the way.
Wait, how do we know you are coming back?
There may be a time in the future when the needs of the organization and my own talents and motivations diverge, but we’re nowhere near that yet. As much as I’m looking forward to going sailing, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have significant FOMO about the work slated for while I’m gone. There will be great programs and events, another cohort of graduates from our high school programs, and exciting progress in propagating our program model through the Blue Schools Initiative—now on two coasts! Too exciting! The chance to engage in that level of groundbreaking work, while working alongside our truly exceptional staff, that’s a rare opportunity and an effective anchor that has me all too eager to return. In so many ways, Northwest Maritime is where I’m supposed to be right now, or at least 6 months from now.
So that’s the news for you to chew on with the dregs of your now hardening Christmas cookies. Happy New Year to you, and good luck on the mistletoe!
Be well,
Jake
Feature photo by Nick Reid, Headshot by Heather J
