Dear John,
After eight years of leadership at SiX, this is our last week as co-executive directors. While we’ve spent the last year preparing for this moment, it is different experiencing all of the emotions of stepping back and saying goodbye to each of you. Sci-fi author Octavia Butler teaches, “All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you.” We leave these roles transformed - shaped by the staff, legislators, partners, board members, and funders we’ve been fortunate to be in relationships with over these years. And we hope you feel changed as well.
When we began our tenure at SiX, we were grounded in a fierce belief that state-level governance could be a transformational place rooted in values. A deep knowing that when everyday people are involved at all levels of the policymaking process, and there is an importance placed on building relationships across legislators, partners, and communities–not only do our public structures become more responsive to their needs, but these people also build greater power to shape the future. This radical paradigm shift is what we define as collaborative governance. The how matters more than the what, and we have been proud to orient towards this approach over the years.
