An old proverb says, “When shared, joy is doubled and sorrow halved.” That observation applies to both people and organizations, as the nonprofit TOGETHER! has lived and learned through its shared governance structure with two co-executive directors. Today, those co-leaders are Vanessa Hurst and Sierra Abrams.
“When you care for people, you care for their community,” says TOGETHER! Board President Melvin Fields. “And you also have to care for the people doing it, and co-executive leadership offers an opportunity to do that.”
Since 1989, TOGETHER! has worked at the intersections of public health and education to advance youth and community health and wellbeing. Originally focused on preventing youth substance abuse and violence, TOGETHER! intentionally expanded focus to address youth, family, and community health and educational equity. A significant factor in TOGETHER!’s success has been the nonprofit’s co-leadership model, which provides sustainability as well as stability and inspires staff.
“It’s a ‘win-win’,” says Fields.
Vanessa Hurst Joins Sierra Abrams as New Co-executive Director at TOGETHER!
Hurst was hired in December 2025 to join Abrams as co-executive director following Kahlo Flores’ departure. Together, the two oversee more than 30 staff members, plus interns and volunteers, bringing their wealth of expertise to the organization. “Sierra and Vanessa are proven good leaders, and they came from the ground up,” says Fields. “They have proven themselves and they care about the organization.”
Hurst’s experience and community connections meant she was ready for her new role. She had served as TOGETHER!’s Director of Host Homes, an innovative program providing safe, short-term host housing for local unaccompanied high school students experiencing housing instability. And she worked with TOGETHER’s Community Schools program. Hurst also developed connections and key relationships in Thurston County through her service with the Scholarship Review Committee of the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound, the Tumwater Education Foundation, and the Board of Directors for Legal Counsel for Youth and Children.
“Seeing all Vanessa brought to Host Homes and her amazing background and work in community, I’m really excited for TOGETHER!’s new chapter,” says former Co-Executive Kahlo Flores.
Hurst says she has worked with case managers, school district employees and community partners providing direct services to youth and families, experience that helps in recruiting, hiring and retaining high-quality employees. She says her framework is “servant leadership,” to be a resource and champion for TOGETHER! staff. “Staff deserve support, flexibility and understanding to consistently perform what is often heavy work,” Hurst says. “We recognize our team as the whole persons that they are- and in turn, they are able to recognize our clients wholly; delivering the best service possible.”
TOGETHER’s Co-leadership Model Positively Impacts Nonprofit Organization in Many Ways
Fields says providing clear divisions of labor, and each person understanding their specific roles, is part of the success of the modern co-leadership model. “I understand the burden of leadership, it’s a beautiful burden, but the more people that share in it, it makes it commensurate with the times,” he explains. At TOGETHER! Hurst oversees Program Operations while Abrams manages the administrative side. Hurst says she enjoys taking ideas to strategize and make them operational, a skill that will serve her well in her new role. “I enjoy creative problem-solving, and implementing human-centered solutions,” she says.
Fields notes that the co-leadership model, along with promoting experienced agency workers, also provides an opportunity for staff development. “If you have qualified people already there, it’s important to lift from within,” he explains. The shared leadership structure also delivers a built-in support system. Hurst says she and Abrams function as sounding boards, quality control and back-up for one another as they work through complex issues. And Fields says the model provides institutional mentoring for employees as they can tap others and know that one person need not manage all demands. “Not everyone can do it all, all the time,” agrees Hurst, “But individual accountability and ownership are well maintained within a co-leadership model.
TOGETHER! and Its Shared Leadership Support Both Staff and Community
Hurst says TOGETHER’s shared governance also ensures that the organization is resilient and sustainable as it supports and encourages Thurston County youth, even in challenging times. Given the current issues many nonprofits face including securing stable funding for their important work, Hurst says today’s leaders need to be “accountable, courageous, intuitive and strategic.”
As TOGETHER’s two co-executive directors support their staff in day-to-day duties, they also collaborate with them and the nonprofit’s board to implement shared goals and programs that strengthen the community and local youth. In addition to the Host Home and Community Schools, those programs include Club House, a partnership with North Thurston Public Schools for in-person out of school programming; participation in the League of Foundations that partners with local organizations to raise needed funds to support students and families; a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Conference to advance educational equity and increase access to representation and information about STEM/STEAM careers and higher education pathways; and, organizing and supporting many other events in Thurston County that improve the lives of local youth and champion the adults who care for them.
Visit the TOGETHER! website for more information.
TOGETHER!
360.493.2230
info@watogether.org
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