The board of Youth & Opportunity United announced today that Seth Green will step down as the Evanston-based group’s executive director in August to become the founding director of the Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility at Loyola University.
“We are very grateful for Seth’s transformational leadership at Y.O.U. over the last six years,” said Sue Brenner, President of the Y.O.U. board. “Seth has led the organization through an exciting time of growth and deepening impact and the Board is already working diligently to ensure we find the right person to lead Y.O.U. forward.”
Y.O.U. has grown dramatically during Green’s tenure. In 2010, the organization’s 23 staff members served 450 kids annually. Today it has a 76-member staff team and serves over 1,600 youth annually.
The organization also completed a $16.3 million Campaign for Youth Opportunity in 2016, resulting in enhanced programming, an endowment and a state-of-the-art new building.
The new Y.O.U. headquarters at 1911 Church St.
“Leading Y.O.U. over the last six years has been a labor of love and among the greatest privileges of my life to date,” said Green. “Everything we have accomplished in these last six years has been through partnership, and I feel truly fortunate to have worked alongside so many inspired, caring and kind staff, board, volunteers and community leaders.”
Y.O.U.’s board is planning to launch the search for the organization’s next leader shortly. Nine members of the board – Linda Blakely, Sue Brenner, Matthew English, Mary Finnegan, David Marzahl, Nicki Pearson, Tom Scott, Tracy Quattrocki and Cindy Wilson – have agreed to serve on special committees that will be preparing for the transition and searching for Y.O.U.’s next leader.
The first step, which is hiring a search firm, is already underway and Y.O.U. anticipates selecting a firm within the next week. The board is committed to diversity in Y.O.U.’s leadership and will be seeking a search firm with a track record of identifying and recruiting diverse candidates.
The Baumhart Center at Loyola’s Quinlan School of Business was recently established through a $5 million gift from an anonymous donor.