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July 20, 2007
Dear Members
and Friends of Birmingham Unitarian Church,
Thank you –
for offering me the first Executive Director position serving the BUC
community. I am excited to join you in ministry and service.
I recently
returned to Michigan after spending a year in the Pacific Northwest
discerning the next step in my career and learned of the Executive Director
position. I strongly believe that this opportunity is the culmination of
that discernment process. Until we have a chance to get to know each other
better, here’s a little bit about me that I shared in my letter of interest
to the Search Committee.
As CEO and
Executive Director of human service and higher education agencies for the
past twenty-five years, I’ve learned the power of collective action for the
common good. My academic preparation (graduate degrees in public
administration and human ecology from Michigan State University and an
undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of
Michigan) has also given me a solid grounding in ethical organizational
leadership.
I served on
the faculty of the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy and have taught
courses in nonprofit management, leadership and grant writing, in addition
to courses in other colleges and universities throughout my agency
leadership career. I have enjoyed the combination of serving as an adjunct
faculty member while leading nonprofit agencies and believe it has helped
strengthen my work in both of these areas.
My family
consists of my spouse the Rev. Robert Schoenhals, recently appointed to
serve St. Paul United Methodist Church of Bloomfield Hills, our daughter,
Alison Warren, alumni of Earlham College and graduate student at Sotheby’s
Institute of Art in London, our cat Tuppence, and our beagle, Snickers. I
have been intimately and actively involved in congregational work all my
life. In our family we live by the belief, “All we have is gift. All we do
is offering”. My best offering is using my leadership abilities and
experiences within organizations that are aligned with my values and
principles.
I am dedicated
in stewardship of agency funds and effective in their operational and
strategic uses. I’ve developed a specialization in nonprofit forensic
accounting, having worked in cases of fraud, embezzlement and mismanagement.
This has allowed me to test my beliefs and values and continue to work hard
for accountability. I believe this also helps me be a good adviser,
consultant, teacher and mentor. I trust that it will be so with BUC.
It is a
privilege to serve in a denomination I have long admired. I look forward to
working and serving with you in our shared mission.
Sincerely,
Jill A. Warren
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