Announcing Updates and Transitions
Letter from the Director
July 1, 2022
Greetings!
As the Retreat Center Collaboration enters its fifth year, we’re updating aspects of our governance structure, core funding, fiscal sponsorship, and staffing to better reflect our values and better support our community and programs. This transition builds upon what we’ve learned in our collaboration thus far, and will give us the opportunity to streamline our internal processes and increase the transparency of our funding and stewardship.
First, I’m pleased to announce a shift in RCC’s leadership and governance structure. In 2018, the Steering Committee built the foundation for early RCC conversations. The group expanded in 2019 from six to twelve members, to better represent the range of diverse communities and perspectives in the retreat center sector. With regular input from current leadership and from allies across the sector, RCC is now updating our leadership and governance structures again, to better reflect our current operations and core values. Starting in July 2022, the RCC will be led by a Stewardship Circle (six members), and informed by a Scanning Circle (eight or more members).
It’s a natural moment to bring in new voices. We’re pleased to announce two new Stewardship Circle members, Nanci Lee and Yolanda Ramirez, who are joining the continued leadership of Michael Shewburg, Michelle Scheidt, Oren Slozberg, and myself. Nanci Lee is executive director at Tatamagouche Centre in Nova Scotia, and Yolanda Ramirez is program specialist at the Dominican Center Marywood at Aquinas College in Michigan. Michael Shewburg is managing director at Five Oaks Centre in Ontario. Michelle Scheidt is senior program officer at the Fetzer Institute in Michigan, and Oren Slozberg is executive director at Commonweal in California. This leadership group is passionate about the role of retreat centers in transformation of self, society, and the world, and we look forward to learning from and with each other.
I’m pleased to announce that the Fetzer Institute has committed to providing essential funding for the Retreat Center Collaboration for 2 more years - through June of 2024. As a community, we’re deeply grateful to Fetzer for their care, attention, and support of this work over the past four years. This funding will enable RCC to continue to grow and develop in our support of retreat centers. Our fiscal sponsor, Commonweal, will provide RCC with financial management, grants management, reporting, and human resources services going forward.
I’m grateful that our paths will continue to cross with the vibrant group of thought leaders who are stepping down from their roles in RCC leadership. Abundant thanks to Steering Committee members Rako Fabionar, Sally Hare, Abdul-Rehman Malik, Arleen Peterson, Jean Richardson, Margarita Solis-Deal, Jenepher Stowell, Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma, and Jenyng Wu – and previous Steering Committee members Michele Gossman, Milicent Johnson, and Teresa Mateus – for their valuable contributions, time, and expertise.
Special thanks to Jean Richardson, a key thought leader throughout our collaboration, whose passion for the future of retreat centers and unfailing invitation to wonderment have shaped RCC since the first gathering. Special thanks to Margarita Solis-Deal, who served as a member of our core group, and whose heart-centered approach to community building anchored RCC during the pandemic, especially in our Building Bridges and Transition Support Circle conversations. Diana Scearce developed the RCC’s theory of change, designed community surveys, and led the work on the Green Paper that has helped to define RCC. As project liaison, Justine Johnson connected our collaborative efforts across programs, support circles, and hubs to foster a stronger community. These folks’ investments of care and wisdom, programs and strategies, have shaped the RCC story over the last four years. We look forward to connecting with them again in new ways along RCC’s path forward.
There’s also a role for you, and anyone in the RCC community! Contribute to informing the future work of RCC by joining our Scanning Circle. The Scanning Circle meets quarterly to inform the Stewardship Circle’s leadership, providing broader ecosystem awareness and keeping RCC in touch with the wide range of perspectives held by retreat centers and allies in our community, including elders’ wisdom and insight. Departing Steering Committee members Sally Hare, Arleen Peterson, and Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma have committed to continue serving RCC as members of the Scanning Circle. The Scanning Circle is a venue for community contribution, and includes those who have retired from retreat work and those who are just opening their doors - join us! It’s an annual commitment, and our first meetings are August 29th and November 2nd. Please email me with your interest.
I’m looking forward to all the ways our community will continue to grow and learn together in the coming years. Thank you for your commitment to retreat centers and collaboration, and for participating in ways big and small.
In community,
Ben Scott-Brandt
Program Director, Retreat Center Collaboration