Gwen C. Mullen, executive director, Senior Services of Alexandria since May 1, 2003, has resigned effective May 12. She gave the Board of directors her resignation at their April 12 meeting.
"I needed to resign to give the organization the opportunity to move on. I was charged with moving it to the next level and to bring it more in line with good business practices. I feel I have accomplished my goal," Mullen explained.
"It's a difficult task to change the culture of an organization. It takes a while to move it," she said. "But I will be keeping my eyes and ears open to find another way to serve the community."
Mullen's approach to getting Senior Services "on a more business basis" was to "make every program self sufficient," she clarified. She noted that during her tenure fundraising activities had been increased by reaching out to businesses.
Mullen insisted that the parting was amicable between herself and the Board of Directors. "It's been a wonderful Board to work with, particularly the president [William Harris]. But it's a classic governance issue which so often occurs with non-profit organizations," she said.
That assessment was buttressed by Harris. "She felt the Board was making changes that she did not agree with. And Gwen decided she had accomplished what she had set out to do," Harris said.
"The Board felt that some changes where necessary in our operations. We have lost some of our regular donations and we needed to do more in fundraising and public relations. For instance, we are working to gain a greater role in Meals On Wheels," Harris acknowledged.
MULLEN SAID that in her view, "The organization needs to form a governance committee. In the next year a major objective should be redoing the bylaws."
Harris verified, "The Board has authorized Grace Lynch to serve as interim executive director. We haven't really done anything about searching for a replacement for Gwen at this time." Lynch has been on Senior Services' staff as director of programming.
Prior to joining Senior Services, upon the resignation of Susan L. Dawson, Mullen had served for eight years as financial aid officer and executive director of The Scholarship Fund of Alexandria. In her final year, the fund awarded nearly $300,000 in scholarships.
Immediately after joining Senior Services, Mullen embarked on a visioning quest to define the organization's future and mission. "During the coming year, we will be exploring what the vision for Senior Services will be," she told the annual meeting last June 19.