The Moran Company Recruits CEO for YWCA Northeast Kansas
May 31, 2024 – The Moran Company, an executive recruitment firm that specializes in the non-profit sector, has helped to recruit Cheri Faunce as the new CEO of YWCA Northeast Kansas. Senior search consultant Brandi Fisher led the assignment. Last year, YWCA Northeast Kansas announced that its current CEO, Kathleen Marker, would retire in the spring of 2024 after serving in the role for eight years. Since that announcement, the board of directors undertook an extensive recruitment process for her replacement led by the Moran Company.
“Cheri’s demonstrated commitment to the work of equity and community building makes her the ideal person to step up to the position at this time,” said Gina Millsap, president of the YWCA Northeast Kansas board of directors. “We are excited about her vision and confident in her ability to lead the YWCA movement forward.”
“YWCA Northeast Kansas has grown tremendously in recent years, expanding programs in childcare, community violence prevention, racial justice, and the Center for Safety and Empowerment,” Ms. Millsap continued. Faunce’s first days coincide with the opening of a second shelter, which more than doubles current capacity to provide emergency shelter for survivors of domestic and sexual violence and human trafficking.”
Ms. Faunce brings to the organization a long career in public sector and nonprofit leadership, most recently as the vice president of development for SparkWheel. She previously held senior-level positions with Kansas State Department of Education and Breakthrough House, Inc.
In her new position with YWCA, Ms. Faunce will build on the organization’s successes as a leader in innovative services to break the cycle of intimate partner violence and drive anti-racist transformation. The YWCA Northeast Kansas has an operating budget of $3.3 million. Ms. Faunce will work with a committed and growing staff of over 50, a talented senior leadership team of five, and 15 dedicated members of the board of directors to advance the mission of the organization and continue to deepen the YWCA’s impact in the community.
“YWCA Northeast Kansas has a long history of trailblazing the path to equity,” said Ms. Faunce. “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead alongside an exceptional team with an unwavering commitment to the YWCA mission of eliminating racism and empowering women. By leveraging our collective expertise and passion, we will further position the YWCA for its next phase of growth and development.”
YWCA Northeast Kansas has been an essential member of the greater Topeka community for over 135 years and is part of a network of YWCAs which represents one of the oldest and largest multicultural women’s organizations in the world.
Related: The Moran Company Assists National Ski Patrol with CEO Search
Across the globe, the World YWCA works for women’s empowerment, leadership and rights in more than 120 countries and 20,000 local communities, including 215 local associations serving over 2 million women, girls, and their families in the U.S. In Kansas, the YWCA Northeast Kansas serves over 13,000 individuals and families each year.
Serving Non-Profits
The Moran Company, based in Leawood, KS, specializes in searches for non-profit leadership, including executive directors, fundraising/development directors, hospital foundation directors, and other senior executives.
Demand Intensifies From Non-Profits Seeking Senior Talent
Non-profit organizations in 2023 are facing inflation, declining donations, increased demand for services, workforce shortages, and more. A recent non-profit trends report by Forbes says that the changing workforce is presenting challenges for both for-profit and non-profit leaders. Being ready to consider alternative staffing options would put many of them ahead of the shifting landscape, says Forbes. Fractional staffing possibilities exist from the administrative level through the executive director level, says the report, and may be worthy of consideration for both short-term vacancies and long-term solutions. For senior-level positions, many leading non-profits are turning to executive search firms.
A search for a non-profit executive has much in common with any personnel search, and most boards have members who have hired many people in their careers. The distinctions in the hiring of an executive by a volunteer board, however, create special process issues, and a specialized search firm is best suited to address these, says a report from The Moran Company.
Bill Moran founded the search firm in 1996. He has worked on more than 70 non-profit searches. He brings a rare combination to the search sector having spent 10 years as senior fundraising staff and 12 years as a successful fundraising consultant serving more than 100 clients.
Ms. Fisher has spent nearly her entire career working in the field of civic and community engagement with significant expertise in fundraising, coalition building, advocacy and policy. She has two decades of experience working on community engagement initiatives at the local, regional and national level. Ms. Fisher is the former chief executive of the MainStream Coalition, a nonpartisan, voter education and advocacy organization.
Related: The Moran Company Places CEO for Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor; Lily Fauver, Senior Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
