A Time for Transition: Concluding My Chapter at New Pluralists
by Uma Viswanathan
After much reflection, I’m concluding my chapter as Executive Director of New Pluralists. I am confident that now is the right time for fresh leadership to build off the foundation I helped create. The organization is in a stable place, ready to bring to fruition a strategic vision and focused mandate, powered by insights and relationships we’ve generated over the past three years. My last day will be Thursday, October 31, at which point I’ll pass the baton to the very capable hands of Liz Vogel, our Director of Philanthropic Engagement, who will serve as our Interim Executive Director.
I joined New Pluralists as our inaugural leader during a pivotal time for our nation, driven by a commitment to help heal our social fabric as the pandemic and culture wars deepened our fractures. As Americans decide who we want to become as a nation next week, we find ourselves at yet another pivot point, which has moved me to reflect on what comes next in my commitment to the cause of pluralism. Among the many things I’ve observed from the brilliant leaders I’ve had the privilege to partner with, along with the powerful ideas and actions we’ve invested in, one stands out to me at this moment: the vital role of spiritual and moral imagination in helping us find our place within our vast, fast, and complex world. (I look forward to sharing more of my insights and reflections soon.)
I’m proud of what we’ve built together.
- We built common cause. Our diverse collaborative of funders and field leaders required diplomacy and sensitivity to navigate and lead – particularly given how much plurality exists in the approaches, theories of change, and perspectives contained in our growing ecosystem. We invested $15M in a community of 40 field building organizations, supporting a diverse group of pluralist practitioners and researchers to collaborate on and discover new ideas and practices, strengthen promising work, and explore how to scale their impact.
- We got local. We got proximate to the very people our field aspires to reach – through Healing Starts Here and several of our Field Builders. Our $10M Healing Starts Here initiative reflected how diverse local practitioners talk about and support pluralism, and we have been honored to walk alongside our 32 Healing Starts Here grantees from regions across the country.
- We advanced our collective understanding about pluralism. We invested in people and ideas enriching our understanding about how to advance pluralism in the U.S. These investments included $5M in research projects, the development of field-level resources, and grants that deepened connections with adjacent efforts in our ecosystem.
We are living through a polycrisis – where the very foundations of our beliefs, norms, natural and manmade systems, and structures are shaking. In times like this, we cannot just keep doing what we know as a society. I’m now choosing to live into this insight. I’m creating space for myself to draw inward – to inhale deeply, to pause, meditate, and exhale over the next few months – so where I next direct my energy can build something powerful in the new year.
I’m profoundly grateful for the relationships I’ve developed with you along the way. To the brave, remarkable leaders I’ve had the honor to work with, support, and learn from: your courage, vision, and resilience have inspired me daily. It has been a privilege to walk this path with you. I look forward to partnering with you down the road.
As I discover what my future will unfold, I hold the guiding principles of pluralism in me as sutras – living principles to renew my commitment to and bring to life in every interaction and choice. I believe that they are design principles for our future and are vital to what this moment and future moments are calling upon us to bring to life. I look forward to uncovering how to manifest them in my next chapter.
