Kevin Chase Executive Search Group Seeks Leader for Time Out Youth
March 16, 2021 – Los Angeles-based Kevin Chase Executive Search Group has been enlisted to find the next executive director for Time Out Youth (TOY) in Charlotte, NC. The non-profit offers support, advocacy and opportunities for personal development and social interaction to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. The group’s former leader, Rodney Tucker, resigned last summer after 10 years in the role. O’Neale Atkinson, who joined the organization in 2013, is serving as interim executive director. Leading the assignment for the search firm are Kevin Chase, managing partner, and Catie DiFelice, senior associate.
TOY’s executive director reports directly to the board of directors, with primary accountability to the executive committee, said Kevin Chase Executive Search Group. The individual will manage a team of nine full-and part-time staff, as well as interns from universities in the area. The new leader will assume primary operating and oversight responsibility for TOY. The individual will be expected to drive strategic, operational, administrative, and financial decisions and will work with board, staff, donors, and partner organizations to advance TOY’s mission.
The executive director will be expected to bring new energy and new ideas to TOY, said the search firm. The new leader will work with the board and stakeholders to develop and implement a renewed strategic vision, with a focus on the following organizational priorities: ensuring financial sustainability through growth and diversification of fundraising programs; bringing critical thinking to increasing program capacity, impact and reach, as well as to resuming in-person service delivery post COVID-19; and leading an expansion of housing programs and services for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing housing insecurity.
The executive director will also act as a primary spokesperson, representing TOY and the communities it serves in public, with the community, in media and at events.
Key Requirements
“The new executive director will be an inspiring, strategic and collaborative leader with a high level of emotional intelligence and self-awareness,” said Kevin Chase Executive Search Group. “They will have a track record in organizational leadership and an inclusive management style, as well as the ability to support, mentor and develop a close-knit team of dedicated, young professionals.”
In addition to lived experience as a member of the LGBTQ community, the new leader should have demonstrated passion for TOY’s mission and a deep understanding of and commitment to the issues facing LGBTQ youth. The ideal candidate will have previous experience in a youth-centric environment and the ability to connect, on a personal level, to the youth and constituents TOY serves.
Candidates must be empathetic and approachable and also bring professional skills and rigor to lead the organization to new levels of growth and success. Regardless of professional background, an understanding of the intersectionality of racial equity, gender equity, and social justice is of paramount importance.
Strong Strategic Skills
Among the required skills and experience called for, candidates should have a minimum of five years of successful senior management (executive director, deputy director, or similar) and leadership experience, including strong strategic planning, staff management, operations, and external relations skills. Intersectional understanding of LGBTQ social, political and equity issues and, in particular, their impact on LGBTQ youth is essential. Prospects should also have a history of having led organizational expansion while facilitating greater mission achievement.
A bachelor’s degree is required, and a master’s degree is preferred. An equivalent combination of lived and professional experience will also be considered.
Time Out Youth, founded in 1991, provides programs and services ranging from discussion groups to emergency housing assistance to individual counselling to more than 70 LGBTQ youth every year. TOY is an integral part of Charlotte and the surrounding area’s growing and diverse LGBTQ+ community. TOY is supported by a 19-person board of directors and employs a staff of nine full-and part-time employees. Its operating budget is just under $1 million.
Veteran Recruiters
Kevin Chase Executive Search Group is a national consulting and executive search firm serving mission-based, non-profit organizations in the human services, social justice, healthcare philanthropy, education, and arts and culture sectors. The firm partners with boards, search committees, senior leadership teams and stakeholder groups on critical leadership transitions.
Kevin Chase Executive Search Finds New Leader for Equality Texas
Kevin Chase Executive Search Group has placed Ricardo Martinez as the new CEO of Equality Texas. He is a gay, bilingual, Mexican-American and a recognized LGBTQ leader by the Obama administration. Managing partner Kevin Chase led the assignment along with senior associate Catie DiFelice.
“We are pleased to announce Ricardo Martinez as Equality Texas’s new CEO,” said Elizabeth Myers, chair of the Equality Texas Foundation board. “Ricardo is a visionary leader who is the true embodiment of the American dream. He immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. at the age of six.”
In a career of more than two decades, Mr. Chase has led dozens of executive search and leadership transition engagements for non-profit organizations as well as companies in the finance, technology and professional services sectors. Most of his engagements are for executive director/ CEO, senior development and board positions, though he has also conducted searches for C-level leaders of finance, operations and programs. He has expertise in working with small to mid-sized, mission-driven non-profits, providing consultation and advisory services to the boards and leadership volunteers responsible for governance and organizational development.
Bringing more than five years of retained executive search experience, Ms. DiFelice’s primary focus is non-profit and higher education assignments. She has also worked in the technology, healthcare and consumer markets. Although she has helped recruit C-suite and other senior executives in many markets and sectors, she said she feels most connected to her work on behalf of mission-driven, not-for-profit organizations. Her broad non-profit search experience cuts across the healthcare, civil rights and social justice, education and arts and culture sectors.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
