We have wonderful news to share with you: We invited Leigh Lehman to be 826 Valencia's executive director, and she said "Yes!" Nínive Calegari will become the chief executive officer of 826 National, a related nonprofit that oversees and supports all of the 826 centers nationwide.
Leigh joined 826 in March 2005 as a programs director. At that time she oversaw all of our in-house programs, including our evening workshops, adult seminars, internship program, and our college scholarship program. In January 2006, Leigh became the first development director for 826, where she worked on grants and individual giving. She has also been responsible for our newsletters, brochures, and website — essentially managing the public face of 826 in addition to raising money for the center. As both programs director and development director, Leigh has been deeply engaged with the management of 826 Valencia.
Before joining 826 Valencia, Leigh was a classroom teacher for seven years in New Orleans, Massachusetts, and Thailand, then spent four years developing online curriculum and resources for K-12 teachers. She also has extensive experience volunteering for educational and youth-based nonprofits across the country. While teaching in New Orleans, Leigh and a colleague designed and implemented a comprehensive and award-winning service-learning program for middle school students. Her experience and expertise are perfect for her upcoming role and because she's worn so many hats both at 826 and before, we know the transition to her new role will be smooth for her, the staff, and 826 Valencia as a whole.
Under Leigh's leadership, 826 Valencia will continue to provide thousands of students with the undivided attention they deserve and that their parents and overburdened teachers seek for them. We will also continue to be one of the most vibrant and effective resources for teachers — helping them accomplish professional-quality publishing projects. 826 will continue to offer the Bay Area with a rich, meaningful volunteer experience. Finally, we will ensure that young people get exposed to happy, generous, talented adults in the community — both to hone their writing skills and to be exposed to many professional possibilities for their future. 826 Valencia is lucky to have Leigh at the helm.
The other big news is that 826 National has grown and requires more attention. The 826 National organization was formed in 2004 due to overwhelming interest from around the country. As the flagship center, 826 Valencia in San Francisco, has become a tutoring and publishing model now duplicated in five other cities: New York, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, Chicago, and Seattle. This fall a seventh center, 826 Boston, will open its doors. Because of our growth, it clearly behooves us to give the National work the focus it deserves in order to ensure that each city can fulfill our shared mission. Specifically, 826 National will support each of our chapters ensuring each has the tools needed to implement effective programming. National will fundraise on a national level while supporting each city with local fundraising. We will also ensure that teachers around the country can lean on 826 for support both inside and outside the classroom — in addition to working alongside teachers with their students, we will create effective and teacher-tested curriculum and offer workshops and opportunities for collaboration. Finally, 826 National will continue to join the national dialogue about literacy and literary arts for young people in this country.
Nínive, who was previously managing both the National work and Valencia's day-to-day operations, will now focus exclusively on our shared National goals as the chief executive officer. Additionally, we will be splitting the two nonprofits legally in order to simplify our separate work.
We are thrilled about these transitions; they reinforce for us the continued importance of the approach to teaching and learning inaugurated by 826 Valencia in 2002. We look forward to keeping you informed of our progress as we strengthen our national presence. We also welcome any questions these changes bring up.
We also hope that you join us as we celebrate our fifth anniversary at one or more of our upcoming events. Your continued support means the world to us. In fact, without you we would not be able to provide the community with the services they demand.
Yours truly,
Co-founders Nínive Calegari & Dave Eggers
