Announcement from Interim Executive Director Rasha Abdulhadi & Split This Rock's Board of Directors
A Message from Interim Executive Director Rasha Abdulhadi
I will be leaving my role at Split This Rock in June. I am grateful to have led with everyone at Split This Rock over the last two and a half years. Some folks may remember that I joined the staff in late 2018 as an interim director—with the expectation even then that an interim role wouldn’t be a halfway thing. It quickly became clear that the transition from a founding director during a time of continued local & national programming, would be more than most folks expect from an interim ED, even before this last pandemic year. It has been an amazing time.
Now that my time is coming to an end, I am honored to have worked with so many amazing people, locally and nationally, during this transformative passage in the life of the organization and in the world. At a time when there is a clear need for change across the whole literary field and in every global structure, I am deeply grateful to have spent the last year with groups of people committed to building practices that match values and commitments. I appreciate having a working home within an organization that embraced change during this portal year rather than defending against it.
As I make plans to shift my own work—back to the South, to organizing, with continued arts and cultural work—I look forward to witnessing, supporting, and learning from the continued transformation work that the community, staff, and board at Split This Rock are leading together.
A Message from Split This Rock's Board of Directors
We, the Board of Directors of Split This Rock, are grateful for Rasha Abdulhadi's service as Interim Executive Director since 2018. In a time of national unrest and an unprecedented global pandemic, their leadership was invaluable.
Succeeding founder Sarah Browning's pioneering effort to build a community of socially justice-inspired poets, Rasha took on an outsized workload beyond the scope of a normal Interim Director, and we were blessed to be held in their capacity and vision. As Split This Rock enters a new era of visioning focused on justice and abundance for our community, as well as strengthening infrastructure and capacity, we will be carrying the momentum Rasha set forward. We know they will continue to have a radical impact on the world and its future.
Please stay tuned for an announcement regarding leadership opportunities with Split This Rock.
Thank you to Rasha for your years of stewarding our community.
Signed,
Split This Rock Board of Directors
Charles Doolittle, Danez Smith, Dwayne Lawson-Brown, Lauren K. Alleyne, Marlena Chertock, Regie Cabico, Susan Scheid, and Taylor Johnson
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Description of Photo of Rasha Abdulhadi: Poet and organizer Rasha Abdulhadi looks directly at the camera. They wear a black fedora and a wine colored blazer and a black and white scarf.
Description of Board Photo Collage: Split This Rock Board members appear in collage above from left to right as follows: Susan Scheid, Regie Cabico, Danez Smith, Charles Doolittle, Lauren K. Alleyne, Marlena Chertock, Taylor Johnson, and Dwayne Lawson-Brown.
Photo of Rasha Abdulhadi by Dina Abdulhadi. Photo of Marlena Chertock by John Consoli. Photo of Lauren K. Alleyne by Adriana Hammond. Photo of Taylor Johnson by Sean D. Henry-Smith.