I have taken lots of twists and turns in my career journey but always with an end game in mind. And here I am.

A year ago, I made the decision that I could actually launch a business that would serve the social sector in a much bigger way than leading one agency at a time. My passion is igniting people and organizations and I’ve always dreamed of building a business that could impact nonprofits in a BIG way. With passion, industry knowledge and lots of experience in the trenches, I was off and running….

ArtsQuest is a Bethlehem-based nonprofit dedicated to increasing access to the arts through music, arts, festivals, cultural experiences, and educational and outreach programs, while significantly contributing to local economic development, urban revitalization, and community enrichment. Musikfest is run by ArtsQuest and is the flagship event of the organization, which reaches 1.5 million people annually.

I have to be honest, I have been thinking about writing this article for a long time. In the Spring, an organization approached me about doing some work on an organization managing through change. Without a clearly defined succession plan in place they were considering a number of ways to get through a leadership crisis and they were curious about my thoughts on shared leadership. In this case, shared leadership meant that two current leaders within the organization would redistribute the duties of the former CEO.