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Mass Cultural Council outlines multi-stage executive director search, seeks staff and stakeholder input
Summary
The Mass Cultural Council’s Executive Committee voted to approve prior minutes and heard Chair Ché Anderson describe a multi-phase executive search: an RFP will select a search firm within 30 days, an internal Council task force will identify semifinalists, and an external stakeholder group will narrow finalists, with staff engagement built into the process.
The Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Executive Committee on June 17 outlined a multi-stage search process for a new executive director, with plans to select a search firm within 30 days and to involve both council members and external stakeholders in vetting candidates.
Chair Ché Anderson told the committee that a task force assembled earlier drafted a Request for Proposals for an executive search firm and that “there has been strong interest from search firms,” with the goal of completing the firm selection in the next 30 days. He said an internal Council task force will review applicants and identify semifinalists, after which a second task force of external stakeholders and prospective partners will help evaluate those semifinalists and recommend finalists.
The Council will receive the final recommendation and consider a single recommended finalist to lead the agency. Anderson and Vice Chair Jo-Ann W. Davis emphasized that candidates should spend meaningful time with agency staff both early in the process and again before finalists are chosen so that staff can assess fit and candidates can learn the organization’s operations.
Council members asked about the job description and task force composition. Joyce Linehan asked whether a job description had been prepared; Acting Executive Director David Slatery and Anderson said a draft exists but that finalizing the description is among the first duties expected of the selected search firm, and that Council members will have opportunities to provide input. Simone Early requested role descriptions for prospective task force participants; Anderson said he had received 53 recommended names and prefers narrowing the list to about nine members so the group can work efficiently while representing diverse perspectives.
Next steps the committee discussed include finalizing the search firm through the RFP process, establishing the internal task force and its responsibilities, and narrowing candidates to a slate of finalists for Council consideration. No formal votes or appointments related to the search were recorded at the meeting.
