12/28/2012

Saturday December 29, 2012

At this time of year, as the days march with measured step toward the end of another calendar cycle, I naturally turn reflective and I marvel at all the small and large decisions, conversations, and actions that make up our lives. The paths we choose and the paths that seem chosen for us look so obvious in retrospect and so mysterious when contemplated looking forward.

Elsa made a huge leap this year, though the intent of her journey started in 2011. I remember distinctly the day she announced, “I’m going to go back to school and get an MBA.” It wasn’t a declaration of wishing it were so, it was a declaration of fact. She didn’t realize at the time all the twists and turns she would take, the tests and tribulations she would face, in order to realize her intention, but nevertheless, she set out on her adventure to go back to school and train herself for the next step in her life. And so in June, Elsa left her 16-year career in teaching and in August she began taking accounting, marketing, human resource management, and data analysis classes.

From my perspective, the first few months of Elsa’s MBA have been transformative for her. She has altered her view of herself, moving away from the picture that kept her trapped as an elementary school teacher, and allowing her to see possibilities beyond our national borders. She has learned to analyze financial statements, think about organizational systems, and lead teams of people from around the world. She has started to think in terms of how to fix broad institutional problems instead of just how to survive inside them. And the class she dreaded most, accounting….she got an A-. She is on her way.

I also made a transition this year. After nearly 5 years at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, I decided it was time to let others continue the work I had started. One of my management philosophies is that you transition out of an organization when things are going well, and at the end of 2011 we had our best year ever. By May I had broken the news to my board and on June 30 my staff threw me an amazing going away party that included tributes most people only get to "hear" at their funerals. I felt very fortunate.

What I didn’t realize about choosing my next step was that the biggest challenge for me is deciding. I had three doors brimming with possibility:

• Vice President of an international non-profit that works with college students to create social change business ventures. I would be in charge of 28 countries, with 50% of my time traveling internationally. The downside is that the company is located in Missouri and it has the expectation of employees living close to the headquarters for at least one year.
• President of a medium sized software company in Portland, OR that creates software for non-profits to stay connected with each other. The company has 12 years of history, but needs to grow to the next level.
• Executive Director of a new Family Foundation that focuses on encouraging environmental literacy K-12 in Oregon. The foundation is connected to a larger community foundation with a statewide presence.

The mental gymnastics I went through in deciding between these three activities is fodder for a much longer letter than anyone would care to read. So I’ll spare you the teeth gnashing and the bloated conversations with Elsa that led me to accept the Executive Director position of the Gray Family Foundation. I had the luxury of securing this job in August, but not starting until October 1, meaning I had 5 weeks for play. Oh glorious free time! How precious thou art.

Aside from working on a number of long overdue house projects and massive amounts of tree trimming in our Happy Valley yard, I did take a very nice two-day rafting trip on the Rogue River in Southern Oregon with our friend Nancy Olsen. Elsa and I also made it to the cabin near Mt Rainier and I had

a weekend with my college buddies, Alan, Jake, and Glenn. And Mike and Jenn, Elsa and I finally got to do our kayaking trip…at Lake Union in Seattle.

My new job with the Gray Family Foundation presents a different set of challenges than did my work at the Sitka Center. My role has switched from being the accountant, HR director, IT support, and leader, to being “the guy who meets people.” Since presumably, we have the money to give away, seemingly I have a lot of new friends. It’s been a terrific opportunity to get to meet with other Executive Directors from around the state, hearing about the amazing work in which our Oregon nonprofits are engaged.

Despite our tumultuous summer transition, the final months of 2012 fell into a routine that saw Elsa driving to and from Salem for her two hour round trip commute to school while I drove to and from downtown Portland. Our dogs have felt the brunt of our new lives, with less frequent walks during the week, but a really nice hour and a half walk on the weekend to the local coffee shop which has become our Sunday ritual.

And at the end of the year, we both had some time off to celebrate with friends and family. Michaela and Troy’s children, Izzy and Ike provided a great excuse to go to the top of the space needle and ride the monorail…something I haven’t done since I was 14. It’s hard to say who enjoyed it more…

There are plenty of other events and activities to report for 2012. It was a busy year, full of transition and change and travel. But in the end, we are most grateful for those mundane things that are easy to take for granted: our health, our happiness, and each other. We know that in the not too distant future we will lose Leia, our beagle who turns 15 in April. We know that other loved ones are struggling with difficult diseases and challenging internal demons. We know that it’s

not always sunny in Philadelphia. But for these days when we can wake up in our cozy home, look out at Mt. Hood, curl up on the couch with the dogs and each other and read a book, we are grateful for our lives and the adventures that lay before us. There is beauty in this world and when we look for it, it gives us daily reasons to love and learn and keep trying to give back as much as we get.

Happy 2013! May it be your best year yet.

Love,
Eric and Elsa

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