Case Study: When Culture Is the Crisis
Leading a Design Organization Through Transition and Equity Transformation
For years, a prominent design nonprofit operated as a gatekeeper. While claiming to champion creativity, its internal hierarchies and "excellence" standards kept the field homogenous. When the founder prepared to step away, the organization faced a choice: install new leadership into a broken culture or use the transition as a catalyst for a total equity transformation.
As the Interim Executive Director, I facilitated this cultural reckoning while ensuring the organization remained functional and strategic during its most vulnerable moment.
The Challenge
Founding transitions are notoriously difficult. This one was further complicated by a legacy of exclusion, a resistant board, and a skeptical public. The stakes included:
A reputation for prioritizing a narrow, white-centered vision of design.
A board member actively obstructing cultural progress.
A community of BIPOC designers watching for signs of genuine change.
The work was not just about writing a strategic plan; it was about changing the culture in real time so that the permanent successor would inherit a healthy organization.
The Approach
Transformation requires naming what others are avoiding. My approach used the strategic planning process to force hard but necessary decisions:
Honest Cultural Assessment: I led community listening sessions that documented the disconnect between leadership’s intent and the community’s experience. These uncomfortable findings became the baseline for change.
Facilitated Board Realignment: Rather than working around a resistant board member, I used the planning process to highlight the need for new leadership. This allowed the member to step down with dignity, ensuring the board was finally aligned with the organization’s new direction.
Power-Sharing Partnerships: I brought in a diverse creative nonprofit as a genuine partner. They didn't just advise; they helped shape the strategic direction and programming, signaling to the community that power was being shared.
Operationalizing Equity: We launched new programming that centered historically excluded designers. This moved the organization's commitment from "statements" to tangible, visible actions.
Structural Diversification: I oversaw the recruitment of new board members who reflected the communities we served, ensuring that diversity existed at the decision-making level, not just the advisory level.
The Results
By the end of the interim period, the organization had moved from a state of crisis to one of unprecedented growth:
200% Increase in Engagement: Membership grew and events reached capacity as the community’s skepticism turned into enthusiasm.
Successful Transition: The organization moved from founder-led to a new, permanent Executive Director with a stable board and a clear vision.
A New Reputation: The conversation in design circles shifted. By addressing power structures directly, the organization earned a new identity as an inclusive, equity-centered leader.
The Bottom Line
Culture change is organizational change. When a founder steps away, the culture they built is up for renegotiation. By choosing to do the hard work of equity during the transition, this organization proved that reputation repair is earned through action, not declared through PR.
