Dear Coalition Partners,
After seven years at Illinois Partners for Human Service, I am writing to share that I will be leaving my role as Executive Director to begin a new chapter as Executive Director of Health & Medicine Policy Research Group. My last working day at Illinois Partners will be July 31st. While I am grateful that this next role will allow me to continue working alongside many of you, it is difficult to put into words what these seven years at Illinois Partners have meant to me.
When I first stepped into this role, I was an unconventional candidate, and there were many moments when the work felt bigger than what I knew how to hold. But this coalition welcomed a new leader into your organizations, shared your experiences, offered honest guidance, and worked collectively to build a stronger voice for human services across Illinois. Together, we built that voice around a belief that has guided everything we have done: human services matter to all of us.
Every success Illinois Partners has had belongs to each of you. Our policy victories, budget investments, and the growing recognition of the essential role of human services have been possible because you chose, again and again, to work together. That same collective strength is why the momentum will continue. It has never belonged to any one person. It belongs to all of you, and I am deeply grateful to have been part of it.
I am leaving Illinois Partners with complete confidence in what comes next. Beginning August 1st, Illinois Partners Senior Director of Advocacy, Adela Carlin will serve as Interim Executive Director. In the five years we have worked together, I have learned so much from Adela’s leadership and her deep commitment to this coalition. She brings care, clarity, and a deep understanding of the work ahead. I trust her immensely, and I know that she and the entire Illinois Partners team will continue to move this work forward with purpose.
Thank you for trusting me before I was entirely sure I trusted myself. Thank you for believing in this work, for showing up for one another, and for allowing me to spend seven years doing something that has changed me forever.
With all my gratitude,
Lauren Wright, Executive Director
Illinois Partners for Human Service
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