On Endings, Leadership, Love and Rest

It is with many emotions that I share that after nearly ten years, I am leaving B Lab on October 5th. I will be taking some extended time to focus on my health after a difficult few years physically.?

It’s hard for me to express what B Lab has meant to me over this time. When I was 16 I wrote my college application essay on the topic of using business as a force for good (long before it was in the cultural zeitgeist). When I landed a role at the fledgling nonprofit, B Lab in 2014, I knew I had found my dream job. In my first days on the job, Bart Houlahan, one of B Lab’s founders, asked me where I wanted to be in 10 years. I answered unequivocally - at B Lab. That has held true for me over this time, despite so much change both inside of B Lab’s walls and in the world around us. This work has been my passion, my calling.

I have had incredible career opportunities at B Lab, moving through a myriad of different positions over time. Spanning everything from place-based growth in Colorado to helping to expand the B Corp the movement to engage multinationals. My work has culminated with the opportunity to help develop (alongside many other brilliant minds) a new theory of change and strategy grounded in equity and justice, ushering the B Corp movement in the US & Canada into a new era. It’s been incredibly gratifying to support our movement as we deepen our commitment to showing up as leaders in the face of deep, urgent and systemic challenges. I am so grateful for these opportunities and for every leader I have worked with inside and outside of B Lab that has seen my contributions as valuable and helped me to grow at every step of the journey.?

But more than anything, B Lab has given me meaning and belonging on a personal level. It has challenged me to confront my implicit biases and my white privilege. Taught me that leadership looks more like listening with an open heart than speaking to be right. I have remembered over and over that I have so much to learn, and that the lessons will rarely come from the places my MBA program told me to expect them. Rather, the most important lessons come from listening to Black and Indigenous business owners as they work tirelessly through the B Impact Assessment, sharing the incredible work their organizations are already doing to change the world. They come from listening to each team member who struggles with the power dynamics that are still in play (no matter how hard we try to dismantle them), and learning how we must continue to grow and change as an organization. The lessons come each time it’s painfully brought to my attention that I have not fully brought in the voices of all impacted by my decisions; that I have forgotten that those most impacted likely had the answers all along. These are the true lessons in leadership. These are the lessons that have expanded my heart and taught me what interdependence truly looks like.

In the end, there is no way to summarize what I have learned or what B Lab means to me. But I can tell you that it has become a part of me. Inseparable. And I will carry these lessons forward.? Thank you to every human I have had the honor and privilege to work with over these nine-plus years. Whether we discussed the value of B Corp Certification in a board room, dissected the imperfections and opportunities of the B Corp movement over coffee, or sat together in endless Zoom meetings, each of you has truly changed me. Thank you.

Thank you to every one of my B Lab colleagues who has given me grace and patience over the past several years as I have navigated difficult times for my health. Navigating chronic health challenges in the context of modern work is difficult, to say the least, and I am so incredibly thankful to B Lab for making this process a little less painful. It hasn’t been easy, but we have learned along the way and we are a better organization for it. Thank you to B Lab US & Canada and specifically to our CEO, Jorge Fontanez for modeling what disability/chronic illness support can look like with love and respect.?

I will be taking time to focus on my healing and navigate care for the myriad of conditions that I am living with, including Chronic Lyme Disease and Craniocervical Instability. As I look forward to celebrating my 40th birthday in a few weeks, I am reflecting on the twists and turns of life. While this is certainly not what I would have wished for myself, I find that I am truly grateful for the lessons that my body has taught me over these past several years. I look forward to slowing down to soak in the changing of the seasons, my son’s laughter, the moments of good health and glimmers of joy that find me on a daily basis. I plan to do some writing in between my rest, and I hope to return to our world-changing work in one way or another once things have settled down, whenever that may be.?

Some days I worry that by stepping away from my work to focus on my health, I will become isolated. Chronic health issues are isolating almost by nature, and after giving so much of myself to this work, many of my dearest connections reside within this movement. But at the same time, this is exactly what gives me strength. When I close my eyes, I have an overwhelming sense of being held by a web of people around the world - a web of humans who I know care for me, who are working toward the equitable, regenerative future we collectively envision - and I know I am not alone. I believe that this web we are building is not just a nice feeling to access when we are sick or lonely, but an essential element to the change we seek. This is how a community of changemakers draws strength to continue on even in the face of immeasurable challenges. It is this web that gives me hope for our collective future.

One of the greatest gifts of this time has been acknowledging that my life is not measured by what I produce, but by the connections that are made, and by how much my heart expands in each moment. If you are reading this, you’ve been a part of that journey. For that, I will be forever grateful.?

With love,

Kara?