Introducing Executive Director Jennifer Bright
FEPPS is thrilled to announced we have chosen our next executive director! A message from FEPPS Board President Megan Knight:
Today, I could not be more exited to share that, following a structured and thoughtful process, the Freedom Education Project Puget Sound Board of Directors has voted unanimously to hire our Interim Executive Director, Jennifer Bright, as the next Executive Director of FEPPS.
Our Process: When we began the search for FEPPS’ next Executive Director, our search committee agreed that we needed to understand specifically what we were looking for both to address today’s challenges and those in our future. We needed someone who could navigate complicated structures including higher education and the Department of Corrections. They must be able to speak across the many populations that make up our universe – students, alumni, DOC staff, faculty, and donors alike. Our next leader must take great care of our staff and make sure their needs are met and that they feel supported. Finally, this person must center our work around anti-racism and equity.
It quickly became clear that Jennifer is the leader who can step into the role as we have defined, and guide us into the future. The staff and board are united in our enthusiasm for welcoming Jennifer as the organization’s next leader.
Reflections and Gratitude on Where We’ve Come From: It would be impossible, at this moment, to look forward without acknowledging and honoring where we have come from. Tanya Erzen was one of the founders of FEPPS and served as our Executive Director for seven years. It goes without saying that, if not for her, we would not be in the position we are today with a thriving organization. Late last year we announced that Tanya was stepping away from the ED position to become our Faculty Director. This change enabled her to give more attention to teaching and writing as a professor at the University of Puget Sound, while continuing to serve in a leadership role at FEPPS and in the field of higher education in prison.
As Faculty Director she is overseeing the development of bachelor’s degree for FEPPS students, the development of an Educational Advisory Board, a rigorous program evaluation, expanded teacher training, and many collaborative programs associated with the University. She continues her national involvement in the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison and the National Conference for Higher Education in Prison, and her advocacy efforts around gender and incarceration.
We cannot extend enough gratitude and appreciation for Tanya’s years of visionary and dedicated leadership, her continuing work with FEPPS, and the support she has given to me and to the Board throughout this time of transition.
Looking Ahead: “Jennifer has been a wonderful thought-partner in her time with FEPPS. She is a compassionate leader with a thorough understanding of the complexities of higher education in prison, and a passion for empowering people who have been impacted by the prison system. Jennifer’s insightful approach and vast nonprofit experience has helped move our organization forward in new ways that will enable us to continue to provide an excellent and rigorous program for years to come.” – Tanya Erzen, FEPPS founding Executive Director and current Faculty Director.
Jennifer Bright has been in the nonprofit sector for over 25 years. She most recently was a principal consultant with Luma Consulting, a purpose-driven firm that works with social change, artistic, and philanthropic organizations. In that role, she particularly enjoyed working with organizations that apply a social justice, equity, or anti-oppression lens to their work. Jennifer did interim executive director work as part of her consulting practice, and before FEPPS her most recent stint was with Powerful Voices, a social justice organization that supports girls of color in South Seattle to take charge of their own power as leaders, build community, and act against injustices affecting their lives. Jennifer has volunteered with FEPPS as a tutor at WCCW, and consulted with FEPPS on our strategic planning process. She’s a graduate of the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington, where she has served as adjunct faculty.
We hope you’ll help us to welcome Jennifer to FEPPS in this new role. We are confident that her experience, dedication to our mission, compassion, drive, flexibility, and collaborative approach to leadership will position FEPPS well as we continue to pursue our mission: Providing a rigorous college education to incarcerated women in Washington state, and pathways to higher education after release from prison.
If you’d like to connect with Jennifer, she can be reached at jenniferbright@fepps.org. Thank you for your past and future support of FEPPS!
— Megan Knight, President, FEPPS Board of Directors
Image description: FEPPS staff in front of brick wall. Left to right: Elizabeth Stensrud, Tanya Erzen, Jennifer Bright, Zoe Brown and Morgan Denton.