The Connecticut Coalition of Reason is sincerely grateful to Chris for his service as part of our coalition. His leadership, insights, and personal touch in working with communities across the state will be sorely missed. We wish him success in Minnesota and also in all of his future endeavors.
Chris’s announcement is below.
Dear community members, friends, and supporters,
Later this year I will be stepping down as Yale Humanist Community’s executive director and moving back to my home state of Minnesota to work with a number of Humanist organizations to establish a Humanist Center. As a part of this work, I will also serve as a fellow at Augsburg College’s Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship. Click here for additional information about what I’ll be working on in Minnesota, if you’d like to learn more.
While I am happy about going home, this was a difficult and bittersweet decision. Building and directing the Yale Humanist Community has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life since I was brought on in 2013, and I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished together. I’m excited about what the future holds for the Yale Humanist Community and looking forward to the energy and vision a new director will bring, and I hope for your understanding and support as I transition out of this role.
I will be staying on in a part-time capacity for the rest of the academic year to fulfill our remaining 2016-17 programs and work with our board to identify a new director, while I also begin some work on the Humanist Center of Minnesota remotely. I’m deeply committed to ensuring that the Yale Humanist Community finds an amazing new executive director, and my board and I are already working hard to set that person up for success. I hope anyone who is interested will apply, because this is a great opportunity to do meaningful Humanist community work. Please click here for more information about the position and how to submit a letter of interest.
I want to thank everyone at Yale and at the Yale Humanist Community — especially our incredible community members, students, partners at Yale and in New Haven, and board members, interns, volunteers, and staff (past and present) — who has made my experience here so profoundly rich. I also want to thank my collaborators at First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, the Humanist Institute, the Humanists of Minnesota, Augsburg College, and others for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to work with them on building a center for Humanist life in my home state. Finally, I want to extend my gratitude to everyone who has supported me and the communities I’ve served over the years for all of your encouragement and inspiration. I’m looking forward to continuing to learn with and from you.
With gratitude,
Chris Stedman
Executive Director
Yale Humanist Community