NCG Member O2 Initiatives has announced the new recipients of their annual O2 Sabbatical Award. The O2 Sabbatical Award honors the commitment and accomplishments of exceptional San Francisco Bay Area leaders by providing them with a much-needed break for personal and professional reinvigoration.
The 2017 Awardees are:
- Emily Arnold-Fernández, Executive Director, Asylum Access
- Saru Jayaraman, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United)
- Cristy Johnston Limón, Executive Director, Destiny Arts Center
- Rebecca Rolfe, Executive Director, San Francisco LGBT Center
- Doug Shoemaker, President, Mercy Housing California
- Christine Stoner-Mertz, President and CEO, Lincoln
Please join us in congratulating these extraordinary leaders who are strengthening our communities in the Bay Area and beyond. They are disrupting cycles of poverty for vulnerable children; helping youth become global citizens and advocates for social change; housing and supporting low-income families, seniors and the homeless; providing a safe space and safety net services for the LGBTQ community; fighting for better wages and working conditions for our nation’s lowest paid workers; and advancing the rights of global refugees.
Now more than ever, O2 Initiatives is committed to supporting those who have tirelessly dedicated their lives to igniting positive change. Sabbaticals recharge high-performing executive directors and advance leadership capacity throughout their organizations. The result is stronger leaders, smarter teams, and more resilient organizations.
Each O2 Sabbatical Award grant includes $40,000 toward the cost of the executive director’s three-month sabbatical, plus a $3,000 stipend for the interim leader (or leadership team). O2 Initiatives also offers coaching in partnership with CompassPoint to help organizations prepare for the sabbatical, assist interim teams during the leave, and provide support with re-entry and organizational learning once sabbaticals are completed. In addition, awardees are invited to request up to $7,500 to support ongoing professional development for their teams.
If you know a non-profit executive director who would benefit from a sabbatical, please share this announcement with them. O2 Initiatives will begin accepting applications for their next round of awards this summer.
The O2 Sabbatical Award was inspired by the Durfee Foundation and their learning about the value of Creative Disruption.