Succession Planning for Founders

Are you a founder and thinking about your exit strategy? Are you a leader or board member interested in succession planning for your organization? 

Succession planning, especially for founders, can be a delicate process that requires adequate planning to ensure the organization has a roadmap for a sustainable future. In this session (live on July 25, 2024), Purpose Possible Partner Starsha Valentine and Rebecca Lemos Otero (co-founder of City Blossoms) and current Executive Director of HumanitiesDC discuss Rebecca's succession plan after founding a successful nonprofit in Washington, DC.

Starsha Valentine leads the Mid Atlantic Office team of Purpose Possible in the Washington, DC area. Her team works with nonprofit organizations to primarily optimize their organizational operations including developing community-centric fundraising systems and processes, leading strategic plans, examining effective communications, and fostering organizational health and growth. We are a full-service nonprofit management firm that specializes in small to medium-sized organizations in strategic organizational design, program design, fundraising, and development strategy.

Starsha received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Howard University and a master's in Management from the University of Maryland University College. Starsha brings a visionary perspective to small business and nonprofit fundraising, integrating stakeholder engagement with realistic goals and metrics for maximum organizational effectiveness. She believes in holistic resource mobilization and values-aligned operations that are culturally responsive and justice-focused.

Rebecca Lemos Otero is a native Washingtonian who has served her community as an executive leader in the non-profit sector for more than two decades. Rebecca grounds her work in social justice and community driven programming. Before starting at HumanitiesDC in 2021, Rebecca co-founded and served as Executive Director for City Blossoms, an organization dedicated to fostering community well-being through providing safe, accessible kid-driven green spaces. Lemos Otero is a graduate of Fordham University, received an M.F.A from the Maryland Institute College of Arts and holds a certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University. Whenever she gets a chance, Rebecca can be found trekking somewhere new in the world while listening to her endless list of history podcasts.

If you have any questions about this conversation or our work at Purpose Possible, please let us know!