Dear Southface community, Like 2020, 2021 has been a year of great change, fundamentally redefining where and how we work and live, how we protect and support each other, and what it means to work toward a more equitable world. While some of the changes Southface Institute experienced presented us with obstacles to achieving our goals, such as holds on our work with municipalities and the limited availability of funding for long-term sustainability projects, other changes opened doors to the kind of societal transformation we need to achieve a more sustainable and resilient future at the intersection of our natural and built environments. Given that Americans spend over 90% of our time indoors, throughout the pandemic, communities have gained a new understanding of the importance of a healthy home and workplace. People are raising their expectations for all indoor environments to ensure the best air quality, fresh air ventilation, energy efficient systems, as well as sustainable and healthy materials. It is also painfully clear that Black, Indigenous, and other people of color and those in low-income communities face greater threats from both the pandemic and our rapidly warming planet, bringing home the fact that the path to recovery, resilience, and prosperity is one we must travel together, with those who are most impacted leading the way. At Southface, we are taking this inflection point as an opportunity to deepen the work we began more than 40 years ago, transitioning our built environment to operationalize a more equitable, sustainable model that is ultimately net positive. While our organization is on the right path to take our work to the next level, this tumultuous and soul-searching time has taken all of us individually and collectively on a journey of self and societal assessment.After five amazing years as the Southface President, I have chosen to step down and transition towards a more strategic direction effective November 15, 2021. I am pleased to announce that our Board of Directors has hired Jim Neal through the Georgia Center for Nonprofits as interim executive director of Southface while we launch a national search for the next Southface president led by Boardwalk Consulting.Thank you to our dedicated staff, leaders, partners, supporters, advocates, and friends for joining Southface in our critically important work. With your continued support, we are confident we will achieve our shared vision of a regenerative economy and healthy built environment in which we all thrive. Yours for sustainable future,
Andrea PinabellPresidentSouthface Institute
