YWCA Clark County Board chooses consultant with deep nonprofit roots to act as interim ED
As YWCA Clark County conducts an executive search to replace longtime Executive Director Sherri Bennett, an experienced hand will be at the organization’s helm to guide it.
Robyn Steely, owner of Robyn Steely Consulting, has been selected by YWCA’s board as interim executive director. The board has chosen a high-level executive search firm, Paula Manley Consulting, to lead the recruitment of Sherri Bennett’s permanent replacement.
Robyn Steely brings a deep background in nonprofit strategy and management to YWCA Clark County. Prior to founding her consulting firm in 2015, she led the Portland nonprofit Write Around Portland for a decade. The organization offers community-based writing workshops in partnership hospitals, social service agencies, schools, prisons, senior centers, shelters, and with the YWCA Clark County. In the fall of 2019, it partnered with YWCA to present a workshop for survivors of domestic violence.
Breadth of Experience
Her diverse list of consulting firm clients includes Mental Health & Addiction Association of Oregon; Oregon Network of Child Abuse Intervention Centers; Human Services Council in Southwest Washington; and Oregon Nurses Association.
Steely brings extensive nonprofit volunteerism to the role as well. She serves as a board member of Safety & Justice Oregon (SJO), an innovative nonprofit that explores alternatives to imprisonment. According to its website, SJO was founded to “advance policy solutions to curb the unsustainable growth of our prison system, invest in programs that prevent crime, and promote healing for people harmed by crime and violence.”
She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in African-American Studies and a minor in Art History.
Sherri Bennett announced in January that she had accepted a position as Chief of Staff at Washington State University Vancouver. She and Robyn Steely will have several weeks to work together on a transition before she leaves for WSU.