Sandra Hollett is preparing to hand off the leadership of the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, and enter into retirement.
Hollett has been executive director of the Partnership for more than nine years, and she said the time she has spent at the helm will have a lasting impact on her life.
“I am very grateful for all that the Partnership has meant in my life, and the work we have done together in the community has really deepened my appreciation of the human spirit,” she said. “There is a tremendous capacity to do good and help our neighbors in need in this community.”
The Partnership, which has served Chattanooga for 138 years, works to strengthen families and vulnerable individuals of all ages through a variety of programs and services.
Hollett plans to stay with the organization until a new leader is found, which she anticipates will happen by this fall. She expects a lot of well-qualified candidates to apply for the position, and said she looks forward to helping the new director transition into the position.
The Partnership’s board Chairman Pat Neuhoff said Hollett will be a tough leader to replace, but he also is confident that a strong leader will emerge from the search.
Sandra Hollett“We’re looking regionally,” Neuhoff said. “We’re looking for someone who knows this area and the community and is familiar with it and comfortable with it, and it becomes second nature to them and they are not having to start all over.”
He said an ideal candidate will be able to have a “40,000-foot perspective as well as boots on the ground.”
Hollett said she is proud of the more than 20 different programs that the Partnership offers and the way each of its 75,000 clients who are served each year are treated with respect.
“The impact that those programs will have on the vulnerable members of our community I like to think is somewhat of my legacy,” she said.
Hollett said she and her husband plan to retire to Palm Coast, Fla., and she will look for ways to be involved in the community there.
“Once this passion for helping others is a part of your life, it has to continue,” she said.
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592.