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Message From Workers Defense Board Presidents On Next Co-Executive Director National Search

Friends,

In just the first two months of 2021, we’ve seen the Workers Defense organizing model in action — rapidly responding to life-threatening crises in Texas like Winter Storm Uri. The month before that, we said goodbye to our Co-Executive Director José Garza as he took office as the new Travis County District Attorney. Throughout it all, we are thankful that our work at Workers Defense remains in strong hands — with co-Founder and co-Executive Director Emily Timm continuing to lead the organization. For 15 years, Emily has fought tirelessly alongside our staff and members. Her leadership and commitment to our mission was on display during the recent winter catastrophe. In a matter of days, we quickly launched the Power Up Texas Fund and mobilized food and water resources to meet the dire needs of our members as power grid and water infrastructure failures paralyzed the state. 

As we turn our focus to the search for our next co-Executive Director and conducting a successful transition, The Board of Directors has engaged Strategies for Social Change (SSC) for support. SSC is a woman of color-owned and -led capacity building and leadership development practice dedicated to working with social justice organizations nationally. 

Meanwhile, under Emily’s leadership, our progress won’t slow down. We are hard at work on our 2021 campaigns to advance workplace justice and immigrants’ rights in Austin, Dallas, and Houston. Of course we are also in the midst of the 87th Texas Legislative Session where we will defend our prior policy wins and ensure the crises we find ourselves in now never happen again, all while advancing a pro-immigrant agenda with our national allies at the Federal level. 

Thank you for all you do to support our members and to cheer us on as we undertake a national search for our next co-Executive Director. Over the coming weeks, we will share a formal position description and ways that you can help spread the word. With your help, we are confident we will find the right match for this incredible leadership opportunity and ensure a healthy transition to our next chapter.

Sincerely, 

Parisa Fatehi-Weeks, Workers Defense Project, Board President
Louis Malfaro, Workers Defense Action Fund, Board President