Interim Executive Leadership

When an executive leaves, everything the organization has built is suddenly in play: staff trust, funder confidence, board focus, program quality. An interim leader’s job is to hold it steady, honestly assess what needs fixing, and hand the next leader an organization ready to grow.

What I do as an interim executive

Stabilize staff and programs so the work never stops. Keep funders confident through direct, consistent communication. Assess financial and operational systems, and fix what is broken. Give the board clear information and honest counsel. Prepare the ground so the permanent leader can succeed from day one.

I have lived every phase of a transition

In late 2018, the board of the New York City legal nonprofit where I had spent eight years asked me to step in as Interim Executive Director during a sudden and difficult founder departure. The transition surfaced serious financial and operational problems. I diagnosed them quickly, rebuilt the systems, and kept the staff steady and focused on the mission. With funders, I chose to be direct and consistent from the start. We retained 100% of them, and a few months later the board named me permanent Executive Director.

I led the organization for the next six years. I grew the budget 72%, from about $1.7M to over $3M, grew the staff from 12 to 21, and built a development function from nothing into a three-person team led by a director. I took operating reserves from zero to eight months, with clean audits throughout. And when the organization was at its strongest, I designed my own succession in close partnership with the board, supported the executive search, and stayed on for three months as an advisor to the new Executive Director.

So I know what a transition looks like from every seat: the interim who stabilizes, the permanent leader who builds, and the departing executive who hands it off well.

How engagements work

Interim roles are typically part-time to full-time for a defined period, from a few months to a year, shaped around what the board and staff actually need. I also take on fractional and advisory engagements for boards planning ahead for a transition rather than reacting to one.

I am a graduate of the Support Center’s Interim Executive Institute.