Dear partners and friends,
As joy often comes with sadness, we are overjoyed that NKCDC’s development director, Bea J.E. Rider, will soon be welcoming twins into her family, and saddened that she will be moving on from NKCDC. In a letter to friends and colleagues, Bea wrote:
The last two years have been an extraordinary rollercoaster and at the same time the most fulfilling of my career. We have faced great challenges together and have many significant achievements to celebrate.
It is in this spirit of pride and gratitude that I want to share some important news for myself and NKCDC. As you may know, I am expecting twins in December of this year. It is an exciting time for my family, and I have made the difficult decision to not return to work immediately after the births. This will be my last chance to be at home when my babies are young, and I am privileged to be able to spend a year focused on them. After that year of figuring out how to manage twins and their two older brothers, I will consider the next step of my career. …
Leaving NKCDC at such an exciting time – when we have so much momentum for investment and lasting change in Kensington – is hard. I love the direction that NKCDC is heading, and I am very proud to have been a part of it for the last five years.
Bea Rider joined NKCDC in 2017, and has served as a tremendous Director of Resource Development and Communications. She also took on responsibilities beyond her title, proving herself a leader in program development and implementation, not only astute at raising funds but in dispensing them to impactful partners.
Most significantly, in the wake of the sudden passing of Executive Director Felix Torres-Colon in 2020, Bea conscientiously stepped into the role of Interim Executive Director. During that difficult time, she provided a calm, responsive, and responsible face to NKCDC staff, directors, and partners. She successfully navigated the COVID-19 emergency, stabilizing the organization’s budget, assisting the Board of Directors with the Executive Director search process, and transitioning the staff—who had not fully settled into our new Orinoka Civic House office space—to remote work during the pandemic shutdown.
When Dr. Bill McKinney arrived as NKCDC’s new Executive Director, it was immediately clear what an incredible asset Bea was as she continued to serve as an integral leader within the organization, within the community, and among our partners. In the past two years she has shown it is possible to both step up and to step back, a rare skill that we can all learn from and an incredible asset that will serve her well on whatever path she chooses in the future.
The staff and Board of Directors of NKCDC thank Bea Rider for her service, her commitment to our mission and our community, and for being instrumental in seeing the organization through significant changes, crises, and growth. We celebrate her accomplishments, wish her family well, and look forward to supporting her professional journey when the time comes to chart a new path.