More SFWA Resignations

This story has been updated with new information.

Following the recent resignation of SFWA president Jeffe Kennedy’s, her vice-president and subsequent interim president Chelsea Mueller has resigned as well.

It is with a heavy heart that I must resign my role on SFWA’s Board of Directors effective immediately. I love this organization, its mission, and most of all, its volunteers and members. My life has changed dramatically since I ran for the Vice President position earlier this year.

Many of you may already know, but my husband was in a major motor vehicle accident a couple of months ago. The journey after that, as well as caring for our small child, has severely limited my bandwidth. I had intended to forge on and make as much time for this organization as I could.

However, I am out of spoons, and must use those I have to care for myself and my family.

With the immense change happening in our organization right now and the need to respond swiftly, thoughtfully, and with full attention, I’d be doing a disservice to SFWA by remaining in a key role that could cause lag in acting quickly and appropriately.

Burnout is a constant refrain within our volunteers, and I can see why. Since taking an officer role on the board on July 1, I’ve worked nearly the hours of a full-time job. So many tasks for our officers could be off-loaded to appropriate staff members if we reviewed our structure. I have shared input with the Executive Director and the Board around what roles I think the organization may need moving forward to better balance the load and allow the Board of Directors to act as a steering governance body instead of an operational one.

One of my main initiatives for this term was to see our official website overhauled to improve navigation and discoverability. I have already prepared a document for a Request for Proposal (RFP) to begin that process (though it needs input and validation from the InfoSys and Accessibility committees). If the continuing board wants to move forward with the RFP, I am willing to advise on the process to select a vendor and negotiate pricing.

Also, because it feels inappropriate to leave during this time and ignore the current situation, I will depart by saying that I believe our staff—current and past—care deeply about SFWA and deserve respect, kindness, and fairness. I will debrief with whomever I need on the board in order to pass on the limited knowledge I’ve gained in these last few weeks on the priority matters at hand.

I thank you all for your trust in me, the stories you write, and the expertise you share. I’ve learned so much from our members, and it’s been an honor to serve you on the board the last year.

Anthony W. Eichenlaub, SFWA secretary, is now interim president. He wrote to the membership:

Our president and vice president have both stepped down. Most of our employees have resigned.

SFWA is at a critical moment.

I hope you’ll take a pause to go through all of the emotions you are feeling because you’re right. Whatever you are feeling right now is appropriate because something you deeply care about is threatened. And many of us do love this organization. When it is functioning well, SFWA is truly a force for good, and it is unique in this industry.

Now let’s take a deep breath, in fact several breaths.

I ask that you think of one thing that you can do to help SFWA move forward. Not one hundred things that someone else can do, but one thing that you can do. Maybe you can think of a way to improve communication on a committee that you are on. Maybe you can lend your unique expertise when the next volunteer call comes out for a targeted task force. Maybe the only thing you can do is vote in the upcoming special election. On that note, we will be sending more information on this election in the coming weeks, and we ask that you please vote.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I still want that list of a hundred things that we can do. I’ve seen dozens of great suggestions in the past few weeks, and I do not want that to stop.

Because I have stepped into the interim President role and was not elected on a platform, I feel like it might be good if I share a little bit about my philosophy for the Board. I believe that the Board’s duty is to provide direction, both ethical and strategic. I believe that the Board should rely heavily on the expertise and efforts of employees and volunteers to accomplish the organization’s mission. In its current state, Board members take on too much. This leads to Board member burnout and it leads to reduced involvement in member volunteers. It also takes autonomy away from the volunteers still involved, which I believe is one of several causes for volunteer burnout. This is a vicious cycle that we need to break.

That said, I am treating this short-term position as my primary job. I currently have the privilege of financial security and a lack of hard deadlines. I do not expect your next elected President to follow suit, but I do believe that at this critical point the extra attention will benefit SFWA.

I believe in transparency. There are limits, of course, but I believe that when we hit a limit to what can be ethically, legally, or safely disclosed, I at least owe you a reason. Please hold me to that.

The Board will be sticking to the agenda topics that were previously scheduled, and I am looking forward to the upcoming Town Hall on September 10th. I’m also planning to write more letters to the membership with updates on what SFWA is currently doing.

Still processing all of this? Me too.

The only way that I know of to move forward in a constructive and productive way is to find that one thing that might make things better. My one thing is accepting this position as interim President. It’s a big one, but yours doesn’t have to be. I’m going to need all the help I can get.

Terra LeMay also tendered her resignation as the deputy executive director, but did so on June 30, 2024, weeks before Kennedy’s announcement. Event coordinator Kathleen Monin resigned in early July.

For more about the organization, visit the SFWA site.

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