Sarah Morgan at Red Bank Middle School for the launch of the Chattanooga Future Fund
photo by Flint Chaney
The Benwood board of trustees announced the retirement of Sarah Morgan after 13 years and the initiation of a national search for a new leader of the impactful local foundation. Ms. Morgan’s career of service to the Chattanooga community also includes 10 years at the Lyndhurst Foundation and active membership on the boards of the Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, Chattanooga Housing Authority, Community Impact of Chattanooga, Women’s Fund of Chattanooga, and the Ochs Center.
Ms. Morgan said, “Chattanoogans embody an ethos of promise and possibilities. We’re a community that has always risen to challenges and believed our best days lie ahead – and then rolled up our sleeves to make a change for the better. Working alongside the board and staff at Benwood has been the greatest professional honor of my life because our work has touched so many local lives. I take this step away completely confident in this: there has never been a better time to call this place home.”
To ensure a seamless transition, Ms. Morgan will remain in her role until her replacement has been hired, which is expected to occur by this fall. ThinkingAhead Executive Search, a Nashville-based firm hired last year by the Tennessee Aquarium to identify its new president and CEO, will lead the national search for the next president of the Benwood Foundation.
“Our community will never fully know the positive impact that Sarah Morgan has had on it, largely thanks to Sarah’s perpetual humility and quintessential practice of celebrating others’ victories,” said Valoria Armstrong, chair of the board of the Benwood Foundation. “On behalf of the Benwood board, we will miss you and are proud to celebrate your impactful legacy in Chattanooga.”
“Throughout her career, Sarah Morgan has been an exemplary champion for our community. The strategic resource allocation of the Benwood Foundation, coupled with the personal leadership of Sarah and her trustees, has been a force multiplier for positive change across Chattanooga,” said former U.S. Senator and Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker. “I hope she will use her unique experiences to continue to benefit our community in her next phase of life after what I hope will be a very short pause.”
“From parks and classrooms to public art and household internet, Sarah Morgan and the Benwood Foundation have made – and continue to make – a remarkable difference in Chattanooga,” said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly, a former Benwood trustee. “As a big believer in localism, I am grateful to Sarah for investing so much of her time and effort into making our city the best it can be, and I know she has inspired so many others to do the same.”
“Hamilton County Schools is grateful to Sarah Morgan and the Benwood Foundation for always finding new, impactful ways to support our students and their families,” said Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Justin Robertson. “From HCS EdConnect, Chattanooga 2.0, and a dozen other initiatives, our students are better off because of Sarah Morgan and her work at Benwood.”
“The Benwood Foundation, under Sarah’s leadership, has been absolutely essential to our work to reimagine some of the most iconic aspects of Chattanooga, including the Riverfront Parks,” said Emily Mack, president and CEO of River City Company. “I am grateful for all that she has done for everyone who calls Chattanooga home, and her legacy will continue to shape the vibrancy of our growing urban core.”
“Chattanooga 2.0 would still be just a good idea without Sarah Morgan’s leadership, partnership, and passion for making Hamilton County the best it can be for every child and young adult,” said Keri Randolph, executive director of Chattanooga 2.0. “Students for generations will be indebted to Sarah and the Benwood Foundation for strategically investing in their long-term academic and professional success.”
David Wade, CEO of EPB, highlighted Sarah Morgan’s leadership of the Benwood Foundation in helping to maximize the economic and community benefit of Chattanooga’s positioning as “Gig City.” She also played a key leadership role in the launch of HCS EdConnect powered by EPB, which ensures that every young person in need who attends Hamilton County Schools can receive fiber optic internet at no charge.
“For many years, Sarah has been a driving force in efforts to revitalize Chattanooga for the benefit of everyone in our community,” Mr. Wade said. “While never seeking the spotlight, Sarah and the Benwood Foundation have helped transform our community for the better.”
Under Ms. Morgan’s leadership, the Benwood Foundation has shaped the community in a myriad of unique and positive ways, including:
- Supported Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise in developing +250 units of mixed-income housing, with emphasis on expanding affordable housing availability
- Supported the Chattanooga Housing Authority’s plans for the Westside
- Supported significant improvements at the Riverfront Parks, Montague Park, and the Broad Street Corridor
- Supported ArtsBuild as the central hub for our arts ecosystem and a host of cultural assets in our downtown and community
- Helped launch HCS EdConnect, which is the most expansive and sustained broadband initiative in the country serving +10,000 local families
- Helped launch Chattanooga 2.0, a cradle-to-career nonprofit that works to improve outcomes for local learners
- Helped launch the Chattanooga Future Fund, the largest child savings account program in the Southeast, to ensure that every Hamilton County student graduates with their own college savings account
- Developed 100 cross-sector leaders through Harvard Business School’s Young American Leaders Program
- Provided significant resources toward the development of workforce pathways for students pursuing linework, construction, computer science, and college completion
This article was originally published by a www.chattanoogan.com . Read the Original article here. .