Goodbye and gratitude from outgoing PWNO director J Randolph
By J RANDOLPH
Hello friends, neighbors, and colleagues:
It is with bittersweet feelings that I let you all know that, by the time this is published, I will have stepped down as the Phillips West Neighborhood Organization’s executive director. As some may know, I have been accepted to a masters program in urban planning at Queen’s University Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and I will be moving across the Atlantic at the end of this month to begin this next chapter of my life.
With my departure, you may all need new contacts for the organization.
● General inquiries/default contact: info@phillipswest.org
● PWNO phone number (text or call): (612) 424-0786
● Programming, events, communications, and partnerships: Ella
Kampelman, Community Organizer (ella@phillipswest.org)
● Housing programming/resources, renter rights, and environmental
housing upgrades: Hannah Jerrie, Housing Organizer
(housing@phillipswest.org)
● Leadership, organizational support, board elections, staffing, contracts,
fundraising, and general administration: PWNO Board of Directors
(board@phillipswest.org) and Becky Gazca, Board Chair
(becky@phillipswest.org)
● Phillips Community Oral History Project: Ella Kampelman, Community
Organizer (ella@phillipswest.org) and Susan Gust, Alley Communications
If you’re unsure who to connect with in the future, email the info@phillipswest.org account; one way or another, you’ll get routed to who you need.
I’ve been with PWNO for the past four years, with three and a half of those as the
executive director, so I am conflicted about this transition. Even though this was my job,
it became so much more than that. As fellow community organizers and community-
oriented folks, I know you all understand how deeply connected we can become to our
work, to our neighborhoods, and to the people we organize with. That is especially true
given what our communities have gone through these past few years.
I have appreciated every moment I have spent with PWNO, even the hard ones, and I
am incredibly grateful for everything I have learned; I am so lucky to have had a job
where building community was the goal. I want to thank you all for your support,
camaraderie, mentorship, trust, and dedication to building community even when it was
difficult. It’s been such a privilege getting to work and organize with you all on behalf of
our neighbors. I’m incredibly proud of the work that we’ve done over the past four years,
and I could not have done it without you all. Know that I love and care for this community more than I can express in this letter, and I will continue to do so from across the ocean. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
With an immeasurable amount of gratitude,
J Randolph
(former) Executive Director
Phillips West Neighborhood Organization
