Message from our Executive Director, Sarah Cody Roth
As we share another Community Impact Report highlighting what is possible when community comes together to address inequity, it is profoundly bittersweet to share that I have decided to transition out of my role as WestSide Baby’s Executive Director on January 31, 2023. After seven years with this incredible organization, I am thrilled to step away from a thriving organization that is ready for new leadership from our community, to ground our work ever deeper in our values and commitment to equity.
Since December 2015, I have been honored to work toward ensuring families have their basic needs met and their dignity honored as part of a more just world. On my first day at WestSide Baby, as Development Director, I had a one year old and found out I was pregnant with our second daughter. As I grew my own family, I got to grow with WestSide Baby, too, and I could not be more grateful for the opportunity to ultimately serve as Executive Director. It has been a dream come true and the role of a lifetime.
I stepped into the Acting Exec. Director role in December 2019, and then the permanent role at the start of March 2020 – at which point, the world turned upside down. My first official decision was to cancel our largest fundraising event and pause operations for a couple of weeks until we could figure out a safe way to serve families. I spent my first several months in this role working from my bedroom at all hours, while parenting my cooped-up three and five year olds and grieving for a dying parent. Three years later, I am incredibly proud of where we have made it together – historic legislative victories to address diaper need, and exponential growth of our partnerships and distribution, while adapting our workplace structure to be more equitable in a brand new reality. I know, so deeply, that there is still so much work to be done. WestSide Baby is an incredible, strong and resilient organization that will attract fantastic new leadership; I will continue to be one of our biggest champions.
I will be taking this time to discern what comes next in my life’s work for systems change, social justice and an equitable distribution of resources, and I look forward to continuing to be part of this community in a different capacity. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being part of our mission and vision.
Sarah Cody Roth
[email protected]
Message from our Board Chair, Nick Peyton
It is with mixed emotions that we announce Sarah’s departure from WestSide Baby. We are grateful to Sarah for leading this organization through incredibly tumultuous times for our community. As we’ve navigated multiple crises in the past several years, WestSide Baby has worked hard to prioritize the needs of our community and has continuously adapted to address children’s basic needs both immediately, and systemically. We have emerged from crisis stronger than ever, with a board and staff team ready to support new leadership to guide us toward our vision of every child having their basic needs met. I will be working with our Board of Directors to lead a robust leadership transition in the coming months. I look forward to keeping you apprised as our search for new leadership takes shape, and invite you to contact me with any questions in the meantime. From everyone on the Board at WestSide Baby, we thank Sarah for her tireless work for those in our community.
Nick Peyton
[email protected]
