Nathan's Transition Letter

Dear Friends and Supporters of Still Harbor,

I am writing from a place of deep joy, a little anxiety, and profound gratitude for this opportunity to write to you all. For this opportunity to transition from Still Harbor’s Chair of the Board of Directors to one of two Co-Directors of Still Harbor. For this opportunity to inherit and carry forward the work and legacy of Ed Cardoza and Perry Dougherty. For this opportunity to serve alongside Marchaé Grair as Co-Directors of Still Harbor. For this opportunity to steward Still Harbor’s Community Engagement Initiatives. For this opportunity to journey with all of you as members of the Still Harbor Community. I am truly grateful.

Still Harbor’s mission since its inception has been to offer itself as an open invitation of care and learning to all people who find themselves at the intersection of spirituality and social justice. People received that invitation. And because of them, Still Harbor has taught, accompanied, and cultivated a dynamic network of justice-minded spiritual leaders, spiritually-minded justice leaders, and folks whose existence defies language but have cultivated home within our community. And, as many of you in this community know, it is no small task to accompany, to teach, and to cultivate grounding in our collective movements towards liberation.

I have had the privilege to learn about these tasks and this work from Ed and Perry, alongside Marchaé and Lauren Spahn when I was a student in the Spiritual Direction Practicum in 2018 and when I joined the Board of Directors in 2019. The leadership of Still Harbor has taught me how to facilitate a space with creativity, how to have hard conversations, how to honor every person in the room, and how to cultivate my curiosity to center care with an awareness of systemic injustice and oppression.

As Still Harbor continues to navigate this transition, I have time and time again witnessed that same creativity, awareness of care, and upholding of honor through every piece of the process. As I come into this work, I celebrate the work and the legacy of Perry Dougherty as she transitions to our Chair of the Board of Directors, and I look forward to continuing to learn from her wisdom.

Thank you all,
Nathan