Recruitment for WAA’s New ED: An Update from WAA President, Joe Mclalwain
Nonprofit Executive Search Firm, KEES/Alford Executive Search Retained
Dear WAA Community,
I hope this message finds you all well and staying strong as we continue the journey to a full and successful recovery. I am reaching out with an update on the search for the next leader of Western Arts Alliance, someone to succeed our beloved and longstanding Executive Director Tim Wilson, who will be stepping down this fall after an incredible 25 years of service.
In December 2021, we announced the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified executive search firms to partner with us — the first big step in the recruitment process. I am pleased to share with you that, following a rigorous review of the proposals received and subsequent comprehensive interviews with the shortlist of four excellent RFP respondents, the search committee has retained the nonprofit executive search firm, KEES/Alford Executive Search.
KEES is a women-owned firm with an excellent track record of successfully recruiting a diverse, highly qualified candidate pool. WAA’s Executive Search Committee was impressed with the team from KEES who demonstrated a clear understanding of WAA and its mission, access to an expansive national network, an excellent system and framework for the search process itself, and a palpable excitement for the work ahead in partnership with the committee. We are excited to work with KEES, and we know that their extensive and specialized experience means we’re in good hands.
KEES has already been hard at work interviewing key WAA constituents to develop a robust position description and invitation to apply, which will be released in early May. With the help and leadership of the KEES team, we remain on pace to bring our next Executive Director on board and training with Tim in advance of his planned departure date of September 30, 2022.
On behalf of the board, search committee, and staff, I want to express immense gratitude and respect for Tim and his dedicated, exceptional leadership of WAA and service to our field. We are particularly grateful for his guidance through the challenges of the past two years; you may know that Tim originally planned to step down in 2021, but extended his tenure to support the organization through the pandemic.
I’ll be sharing further recruitment updates with you as the search progresses, but please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly via email at joe@ec4arts.org should you have any questions along the way.
Thank you, WAA community, for your continued engagement and support. I hope to see you in Calgary this summer!
Sincerely,
Joe McIalwain
President, WAA Board of Directors
P.S. In case you missed it — Tim reflects on his time at WAA and shares what’s next for him here.