At Open Horizon, we believe that experiential learning is a powerful driver of both personal growth and social change.
There’s a warm wind blowing on the Open Horizon. It’s a wind that invites rest and reflection, that reminds us not to give in to the urgency so often present and clawing at us, demanding our attention.
As part of our effort to cultivate an organizational culture that centers wellbeing, Open Horizon is putting our values into action via sabbatical programming. We have two grantee partner leaders who recently started their pilot OH Stargazer Sabbaticals in honor of Malinda M. Jacobs, the late mother of our beloved OH Executive Director D’Lynn Jacobs . And now, as of May 15th, our ED herself is on sabbatical.
Yes, we are centering rest and reflection by supporting our ED to take a paid three-month sabbatical. During this time I, as co-founder, am stepping into the role of interim ED. Between me and Courtney, our dope DOPI, Director of Operations & Program Innovation, we will be covering the work of our ED and providing support to our grantee and programmatic partners.
It’s an interesting experience for me, OH co-founder, to again be taking up the work of leading and being the primary person responsible for Open Horizon. It’s especially interesting because I so clearly remember the mixed emotions I had when D’Lynn began as ED back in March 2023, three years into the life of OH. I remember telling her, “I fully trust you. And…I’m nervous to be handing OH, my baby, over to your care.”
And now I’m the one holding a gangly five-year old OH who is too big to rest comfortably in my arms. In D’Lynn’s care OH has grown a tremendous amount. We have more partners, more connections, and more cousins in the work. We have a more mature organizational culture, more structures and systems, and we are continuing to learn as we grow.
One thing that remains consistent throughout is the love. As D’Lynn reminded me just before stepping away from her work email for her sabbatical, as long as our work is rooted in love and abundance, then we are where we need to be. It’s a warm wind indeed. Can you feel it?
How are you rooting your work in love and abundance, in rest and reflection?
Lisa Cohen, Open Horizon Co-Founder
