The Freedom To Be My Whole Self
Like any good adventure, I sort of stumbled into the Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego. Through a chance meeting that led to another chance meeting, I found myself enjoying some late afternoon light through an office window, seeking simply to learn more about the logistics of the Fieldstone Coaching program. I quickly realized, however, that I was tapping into something much bigger, much more insightful, much more special than I had initially grasped. Mentorship was only a part of Fieldstone, and in fact, it’s but a tool for this network of authentic and genuine connection, all rooted in a deep care for the San Diego region and its people.
When I think of what FLNSD gave me, it was the safe space to be vulnerable, honest about my joys and fears, and both the real and theoretical place to dream big. My leadership program began shortly before COVID hit our community. I recall us all sitting around a table wondering how bad it would be. The answer was really, really, really bad; COVID exacerbated longstanding inequities and while it made life hard for just about everybody, it continues to make life unbearably hard for those already carrying the burden of our unequal society.
Erin, third from right with her Nonprofit Leaders Learning Group in January 2020.
Some of the people I processed this global trauma and these rising inequities with were my Fieldstone leadership colleagues. We relied on each other and were lucky to have one another, to navigate this new world, and to discuss together what a better future could look like. One thing we landed on was bringing our whole selves to that virtual table, and to our work, and valuing when others did the same. I felt such freedom by getting to do that, I wanted to share it, I wanted all spaces to feel as brave and welcoming.
At San Diego for Every Child, we facilitate a lot of serious discussions and heavy thinking—it comes with the job when you’re trying to tackle the experience of child poverty. What FLNSD gave me was an experience of freedom, of safety in vulnerability, of showing up wholly myself. Since my leadership program, I’ve tried to replicate and create that space for others through my work.
What I’ve landed on both as a manager and as an advocate is that we ALL really need this. 
We all need to be seen as the multi-faceted human beings we are: as parents and children, as nieces and nephews and caregivers, sometimes as a lifeline to friends, family, and beyond. This is our humanity.
This clarity I reached in part through my Fieldstone experience helps me not only in coalition spaces, but also in the systems-level change we seek to bring forward. Because it’s empathy when we recognize humanity in one another, but it’s liberation when we build this humanity into our policies.
Erin Hogeboom, Director, San Diego for Every Child
Erin Hogeboom is the Director of San Diego for Every Child, a regional initiative with the goal of cutting the experience of child poverty in half by 2030. She participated in Fieldstone’s Nonprofit Leaders Learning Group in 2020.
Each week during our 40th anniversary year, a member of our Network will share what Fieldstone means to them and how being a part of this learning and leadership community has impacted them and the work they do to serve the community.
If you have a story you would like to contribute to our collection, please contact Janine Mason.
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Clare Rose Sabbatical Awards Granted
Strong Applicant Pool As Program Begins 10th Year
The Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego announced its 2023 Clare Rose Sabbatical Awards on May 8th. After receiving a record number of applications after taking a year hiatus to work through COVID-19 related schedule changes of previously awarded grants, Fiona Chatwin and Villa Musica and Ben Vallejos and Living Coast Discovery Center were selected for this year’s cohort.
The grant, worth $50,000, underwrites the salary and benefits of the Executive for three months so they may take an extended leave from the organization. The program also includes a program consultant to help with the preparation, execution and re-entry phases of the program, funds for additional staff training and bonuses for those who lead in the executive’s absence. The goal of the program is to increase the capacity of the staff by creating opportunities for them to lead in ways only possible when the CEO is not present and to sustain the leader so they will remain in a leadership position in the nonprofit sector. To date, 27 local nonprofit leaders and their organizations have participated in the Clare Rose Sabbatical program for an investment of $1.35 million.
Our 2023 Recipients
Fiona Chatwin and Villa Musica
Established in November 2005, Villa Musica is a place for people of all ages to come together to take music lessons, play in an ensemble or participate in workshops. Villa Musica’s goal is to create a focal point for community music education where students and teachers can meet to exchange ideas and experience the joy of making music. Dr. Fiona Chatwin is the founder.
The agency employs 40 local teaching artists who serve over 770 students each week. Services are offered at the agency’s Sorrento Valley location and throughout San Diego at four satellite library locations. Villa Musica also collaborates with 17 senior living communities and serves over 350 seniors with concerts, musical biographies and other musical educational opportunities.
Fiona is a graduate of Fieldstone’s Executive Learning Group, and Coaching Program. She is a current member of our All We Can Save Learning Circle. Aaron Bullard, who will lead during Fiona’s sabbatical, is a also a Learning Group graduate.
Ben Vallejos and Living Coast Discovery Center
The Living Coast Discovery Center, located in Chula Vista, is a zoo and aquarium that features species local to the southern California region. With a mission to inspire the community to connect with and care for our coastal environment, the Center hosts approximately 70,000 visitors annually. Over 13,000 students visit each year on school field trips. The Center employs over 50 people, with nine of those working full-time.
Ben has been with Living Coast for over 21 years, serving as the Executive Director since 2013. He is a graduate of our Nonprofit Leaders Learning Group. Lori Coons, who will be leading in his absence, is also a graduate of our Learning Group and Coaching Programs and is currently participating in our All We Can Save Learning Circle.
The Clare Rose Committee
It is a tradition within the Clare Rose Sabbatical program to have past recipients serve on the interview and selection committee. We have found that those with lived experience ask the best questions and offer the clearest wisdom to the applicants as they have a unique understanding of the program and can interpret answers and conditions which are ripe for a sabbatical experience. They also recognize staff and board support, or lack of preparation or buy-in, more easily. This year, Deborah Martin, Elderhelp; Nicole Mione-Green, Casa de Amistad; Tonya Torosian, Promises2Kids; Barbara Reuer, Resounding Joy and John Malashock, Malashock Dance, joined Janine Mason and Anne Vincent on the Committee. We are grateful for their participation and for living our value of reciprocity.Helping to Inform the Sabbatical Movement
Since the inception of the program, Fieldstone has worked with researchers to study the impact of the program on individuals and organizations. Recently our research was cited by the BIPOC-ED Coalition in the State of Washington. The Coalition is multicultural, cross-sector collective of nonprofit leaders working to promote community wellness and restoration and which has committed $1.37M to fund sabbaticals for BIPOC leaders. Its report, Sabbaticals for BIPOC Leaders, raises the question: What if every state established a coalition that organizes to create avenues for rest, particularly in communities most harmed by systemic oppression? You can access the entire report here Next Opportunity
I Built a Circle of Trusted Colleagues
Participating in Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego programs has provided real world training that has helped to build my confidence and skills as a manager, and leader. At the conclusion of the leaders program, I was pleasantly surprised to have built a circle of trusted colleagues from various nonprofit organizations who shared many of the same challenges I faced on a daily basis. The immersive nature of the program provided a space for us to share and exchange ideas, knowledge, and practical solutions. While our cohort no longer meets regularly, I stay in touch with many members of the group and know that I can call on any of them when needed.
Since I completed the Nonprofit Leaders Learning Group program in 2016, the Living Coast has continued to encourage its leaders to seek professional development through Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego programming. Aside from the networking opportunities and invaluable connections I made through the Network, I learned the value of mental health – ways to be mindful and take time for myself to recharge.
Lori, fifth from left, with her coaching cohort in 2019
In 2019 I was fortunate to be part of the Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego coaching program. I met monthly with a knowledgeable Executive Director (coach) who provided me with valuable guidance that I continue to use today. My coach was especially helpful to me as I navigated my way through an unexpected appointment as interim Executive Director. Talk about timing! Little did we know the focus of our monthly conversations would shift to whatever complication I was faced with in the moment. This interim appointment ended after three months, and the support I received from my coach gave me the confidence and insights needed to fulfill the role successfully.
I am grateful to Janine Mason and the Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego facilitators and coaches who gave their time and provided their insights in order that I could benefit from their knowledge and experiences, and become a better manager and leader.
Congratulations on 40 years!
Lori Torio, Director, Community Engagement and Development, Living Coast Discovery Center
Self-identified as a “proud alumna of the Fieldstone Nonprofit Leaders program, coaching program, and All We Can Save Learning Circle”, Lori Torio, CFRE, is the Director of Community Engagement and Development at the Living Coast Discovery Center, leading a team of four development and marketing professionals. Prior to joining the Living Coast eight years ago, she worked at UC San Diego in health sciences. In her current role, Lori has led her team to increase awareness of the Living Coast mission, build and strengthen relationships with community members, and sustain fundraising efforts raising $1million annually. Lori was born and raised in Chula Vista and graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. Liberal Arts/Economics.
She is a board member with Association of Fundraising Professional’s San Diego chapter and Las Primeras, a group of women dedicated to serving the south bay community of San Diego County, and beyond. She is a member of the Chula Vista Rotary, and volunteer with the UCSD Christini Fund supporting the UC San Diego Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center.
Each week during our 40th anniversary year, a member of our Network will share what Fieldstone means to them and how being a part of this learning and leadership community has impacted them and the work they do to serve the community.
If you have a story you would like to contribute to our collection, please contact Janine Mason.
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Humbling, Inspiring, and Empowering
I first came to Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego when I was one year into my role as Executive Director of the San Diego Women’s Foundation.
The one-year mark was the perfect time to participate in the six-month Executive Learning Group. The first year in any new job is uniquely draining – you have to learn the job as you do it. That’s even more true in a leadership role, where you’re charged with making decisions that affect your staff and the future of the organization.
After a year, my head was above water but I was still very much learning the role. How fast could I move toward change? What was I even allowed to change? What was the right balance of inclusive versus decisive? How on earth could I find time to get to the important things that had been on my to-do list since my very first day?
The monthly, full-day sessions offered a chance to get out of the day-to-day and think about how I could grow to be the most effective in my role.
Katie, third from left in the back row, with her Executive Learning Group, 2018
It was valuable to spend time each month with trusted peers in similar roles. It was reassuring to hear that we were all navigating variations of the same challenges. I was grateful for their insights and to have the chance to learn from the leadership styles around the table. And I realized that, even in a group of leaders that I so admired, I had learning and insights of my own to benefit the group.
It was humbling, inspiring and empowering. Being part of the Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego continues to be all three of those things.
I’m no longer Executive Director of SDWF, but I am deeply proud of the work I did in partnership with our staff, members and partners. The organization is stronger today than ever, with a dedicated membership, a commitment to trust-based philanthropy, and a well-earned reputation as a strategic funder with meaningful impact.
I’m particularly proud to have hired a Program Manager who has become SDWF’s current Executive Director. Stephanie Cook leads the organization with strategy, expertise and bold vision. She is in the current Fieldstone Executive Learning Group, and I have no doubt that SDWF will continue to benefit from the growth and connection that Fieldstone provides.
Katie, third from right in the back row, with her fellow Fieldstone Coaches November 2022
The lessons and skills I’ve developed have carried through to my role leading donor engagement and philanthropy advising at San Diego Foundation. And now as a Coach in Fieldstone’s Executive Coaching program, I am happy to continue to help leaders in our sector grow.
As leaders, we think a lot about how to develop our staff but not enough about our own development. Landing the CEO/ED role shouldn’t mean that we’re finished learning and growing – especially when the decisions we make shape the sector that serves our community in such vital ways.
It matters that this sector has strong leaders. Fieldstone invests in leaders and connects us to each other. I am grateful and proud to be part of the Fieldstone community.
Katie Sawyer, Donor and Community Engagement, San Diego Foundation
Katie has participated in Fieldstone’s Executive Learning Group and Equity Journey 3.0, and is a current Coach in the Fieldstone Executive Coaching Program. She is Senior Director of Donor and Community Engagement at San Diego Foundation and has been in nonprofit and philanthropy leadership roles for fifteen years. She has not (yet) participated in a Fieldstone Leadership Reading Group, but she shamelessly steals book recommendations from Janine and Reading Group participants.
Each week during our 40th anniversary year, a member of our Network will share what Fieldstone means to them and how being a part of this learning and leadership community has impacted them and the work they do to serve the community.
If you have a story you would like to contribute to our collection, please contact Janine Mason.
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Fieldstone Changed My Life
I have a confession.
When I started the San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF), I had no long-term plan, no experience in organizing a large-scale event, no film background, and had never written a grant.
What I did have was a deep, unwavering passion to amplify stories of the Asian American diaspora. As a first-generation immigrant from South Korea who grew up in the Midwest and lived in the Deep South, I know what isolation and marginalization felt like.
My world changed on August 11, 2000 when I saw the standing-room only crowd on SDAFF’s very first opening night. I felt an overflowing sense of purpose, joy, and belonging. Though an unplanned pregnancy, I had just birthed my first baby, and it would became the center of my universe for 16 years.
Without any knowledge on what it would take to turn SDAFF into a mission-driven organization, I felt like I was alone on a dinghy in the middle of the ocean without a sail.
Lee Ann with her Stone Catcher rock
Then I found Fieldstone.
Right away, I jumped on the coaching train. My wonderful coach, Sheryl Russell, was informative, patient, and responsive. She shared organizational processes, board structure, and insight from a founder’s perspective. While our organizations were different, I was surprised to learn that our challenges were similar.
About five years later, I came back to Fieldstone for another round of coaching. This time, I had quit my full-time job as a TV news journalist to exclusively run the film festival and its presenting nonprofit Pacific Arts Movement.
By then, I had a whole different set of questions and mentoring needs for my second coach, Matt D’Arrigo. As a fellow founder, he shared invaluable best practices, HR advice, and was a great listener, especially when I needed to vent. I still consider him a dear friend.
It’s no coincidence that after each coaching season, the film festival and Pacific Arts Movement continued to grow. I felt more confident, informed, and I had a larger Fieldstone network to tap into whenever I needed help.
I guess I caught the Fieldstone bug. I joined an Executive Learning Group, a facilitated once-a-month program for nonprofit executives. Over six months, we deep dived into organizational sustainability, leadership skill development, and solved problems in a trusting, intimate environment.
As a working mother, one of my biggest challenges was time. I never spent the kind of time I wanted with my two young boys. Even when I did, my mind was always on work. I felt ungrounded, guilty, and judged myself constantly.
Lee Ann, third from left, with her Clare Rose Sabbatical Cohort, 2015
Thank God for Fieldstone’s Clare Rose Sabbatical Program, which offered me a chance to be a born-again mother. For three months, I devoted uninterrupted time to my boys, husband, extended family, and most importantly to myself. I videotaped hours of interviews with my father-in-law and my grandmother – both who passed away during the pandemic.
During the sabbatical, I had space to recharge, reflect, and remember what was most important in life. My boys were already 9 and 10 years old, and my heart spoke loudly that it was time to leave Pac Arts to serve my family.
Remarkably, Fieldstone supported this decision, and the Sabbatical program helped to develop the leadership skills my staff needed to carry the organization beyond my tenure. I’m happy to say that the SDAFF is now in its 24th year!
It’s not hyperbole to say that Fieldstone changed my life. I am still on the path of self-discovery that began through Fieldstone’s programs. Today, I consider myself a “community plumber” answering the call for help when needed, and sharing my yoga practice as a teacher and a forever student.
Lee Ann Kim, Founder, Pacific Arts Movement (retired)
Lee Ann Kim is a storyteller, video and events producer, ideas generator and instigator. She is a former broadcast journalist and founder of San Diego Asian Film Festival and Pacific Arts Movement. Lee Ann is recognized for knowing how to create meaningful events and programs from the ground up. She is an experienced presenter, facilitator/emcee of meaningful events, and routinely speaks on topics of race, gender, motherhood, and personal experiences as a Korean American immigrant. Oh, and she make videos… lots of videos, including all of the videos on Fieldstone’s website! Lee Ann loves helping individuals and organizations find/tell their story to create long-lasting impact. Lee Ann is a graduate of our Executive Learning Group program, our Coaching program and a Clare Rose Sabbatical recipient.
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Barbara Mannino – A Beloved Member of the Fieldstone Family
It is with a broken heart that I write to you today to share news of the passing of Barbara Mannino. Barbara died yesterday, April 20th, after a devastatingly quick battle with lung cancer.
Barbara served as the CEO of Vista Community Clinic for 30 years. During her tenure, she grew the organization from a staff of 30 with a $500,000 budget and one site to a $35 million budget with 530 employees and five state of the art medical facilities. Barbara and I met in the late 80s, early in her tenure at VCC and early in my career at Fieldstone. We quickly became friends and met regularly. We shared family photos and I watched her daughter, and then grandchildren, grow up and she watched my son too. Our special place was Pacifica Del Mar and I can’t go there without thinking back to those seemingly ordinary lunches that have become treasured memories. Barbara was there when I became the Executive Director of Fieldstone and was always at the ready to be a sounding board and give me sage advice – advice that I still think back to over twenty three years later!
Barbara, second from left front row, was part of Fieldstone’s first Executive Learning Group in San Diego in the early 1990s.
Barbara was a member of Fieldstone’s first Executive Learning Group. Shortly after, she became a Fieldstone Coach and had served continuously in this role since the early days of the program. She blessed her coachees, she had over 25 of them, with her time and wisdom and they were better leaders because of her investment in them. And so was the Network.
I will always be grateful to Barbara for her commitment to the Network, even after she retired from VCC. She continued to coach through December of last year. (She had every intention to coach in 2023, but we didn’t match her. Thank goodness we had the chance to celebrate together at our December gathering.)
It can be hard to remember the early days of creating the Network, mainly because we didn’t know it would grow into a Network at all. We started with individual programs and I have always believed our success was due to the early adopters who trusted us and said “yes” to our invitation and then helped us create what we now understand the Network to be. Barbara was foundational in this work and her participation helped to give us credibility at an important time. I will always be grateful to her for this and for so much more.
Barbara, center in middle row, with her fellow Fieldstone Coaches in December 2022
American writer Brian Andreas once said, “It is still so new and all we see is the empty space, but that is not how it is in the landscape of the heart. There, there is no empty space and she still laughs and grapples with ideas and plans and nods wisely with each of us in turn. We are proud to have known her. We are proud to have called her friend.” I know Barbara will remain with me, with the Network, and with those she coached on Fieldstone’s behalf. I believe she will be with us as we grapple and make plans for what comes next. And I know she will be nodding and cheering us on as we continue to support each other in answering the call to lead and to help each other to do it well.
Rest in Peace, Barbara.
Love,
Janine
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A Full Service Support Center
I have had the fortune of being involved with the Fieldstone Leadership Network for over a decade now. My first opportunity was with an Executive Learning Group. It was an opportunity to network with other non-profit directors and, over the course of several months, work through actual organization/leadership problems as a team utilizing group feedback and evaluations, resource-sharing, and a facilitator. Looking back at that application, our organization had 27 paid staff members with an annual budget of $375K. The six-month course delivered new resources, relationships, and ideas that I immediately implemented for the organization’s benefit.
With the success of the first investment, I was mindful of the different communications Janine Mason and Fieldstone sent out. The opportunities were plentiful and it felt like a full-service support center that I could tap in to as frequently as I made time for. Then, a couple years into my Fieldstone journey, a newsletter spoke of a sabbatical for non-profit Executive Directors. It sent me on a path that inspired questions I had never thought of before:
- Could my organization and staff function without me for three months?
- What would we have to do so that the organization and staff could function without me for three months?
- Why don’t we have a plan so that the organization and staff could function without me for three months, or longer?
- Who else can the organization really lean on to ensure that the programs, clients, and staff will thrive – with or without me?
The sabbatical information spoke of taking the time off that is necessary to re-charge and refresh. It also spoke of building the capacity of those within the organization so that the organization could sustain its effectiveness in meeting its mission. I tell you, the sabbatical opportunity sparked day dreams similar to when people think of winning the lottery. But since it was an actual opportunity, not just a 1 in 300 million chance, it also gave me a goal to focus toward so that I could apply the following year – if the opportunity was made available again.
Anne Vincent (L) with Tonya and Janine Mason (R) receiving her Clare Rose Sabbatical grant.
The Clare Rose Sabbatical Program was made available the following year and my years worth of daydreams, planning, staffing, and coaching were rewarded with an awarded sabbatical for 2016-17. The experience, for me, was incredible. I spent time in Africa and South America and did amazing things like a horseback safari through Zimbabwe and Botswana, a live aboard diving trip to the Galapagos Islands, and hiking Machu Picchu. I hold memories that make me smile whenever I think of them and remind me of the blessings that have been bestowed on me.
As amazing as the opportunity was for me personally, it had a larger effect on the organization. Those effects are so much clearer to see now, six years later. Our program staff was really tasked with “leading” during my absence and it made it obvious who was cut out for it, and how we needed to adjust going forward. Part of the required commitment to the sabbatical was to have a line item in the budget that allowed for continuing education (Fieldstone calls it a development fund). Although the line item had always been there, we committed more money to it and really emphasized staff members making choices on what they could do to take themselves, and their programming, to the next level.
We are not a big organization, but Fieldstone invested in us so that we have more than quadrupled our budget, doubled our staffing, and are serving three times the clients that we were ten years ago. Our continuing education took on a new meaning last year when Lead Staff took a mini-sabbatical (three weeks). In order to participate they had to delegate responsibilities to key staff, have a strong Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Manual in place, and spend the preceding year coaching their staff so everyone was comfortable truly leading and acting in their supervisor’s absence. The ripple effect of Fieldstone’s investment in Executive Leadership and capacity building made way for a terrific break for Lead Staff and worked on duplication/replication of staff leadership another layer down within the organization.
Hopefully there are clear milestones in your life that you can look back to and see where true transformation, improvement, and progress sprang from. Personally, I, and the organization I serve, are blessed to see that several of those milestones have Fieldstone clearly written on them. On behalf of the children and adults with special needs, Veterans, active-duty personnel, horses, volunteers, and staff that have benefitted from Ivey Ranch as an organization – thank you Fieldstone.
Tonya Danielly, Executive Director, Ivey Ranch Park Association
Tonya is a California native, born in Oceanside at Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital. She grew up in Carlsbad, graduated Carlsbad High School, and moved back to Oceanside in 1991. She attended Mira Costa Jr. College and then transferred to CSUSM. Pursuing a career in the medical field – she worked in both reproductive science and hospital management. In 1999 she was invited to interview for the position of Executive Director at Ivey Ranch and has since worked on revitalizing programs and the facility as well as introducing an equestrian and therapeutic horseback riding program back in 2003. She is now a credentialed Early Education Instructor as well as a state licensed site supervisor. She is a Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor with Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH), an Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning, a PATH listed mentor for facilities, instructors, and programs, and a past PATH Southern California State Chair. She is an avid traveler and reader, a PADI certified Dive Master, and is working to obtain her Private Pilot’s License. Her passions include animals, children, family, and community.
Tonya is a graduate of Fieldstone’s Executive Learning Group and an active member of a Leadership Reading Group. She received a Clare Rose Sabbatical grant in 2017.
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Finding Family at Fieldstone
I’m a Founder and the Executive Director of a small non-profit Arts organization and it’s lonely sometimes. For the first 12 years of Villa Musica’s existence, I focused a lot of energy finding my people at conferences and workshops through a national affiliate organization based in New York City. This was a great resource but it left me feeling disconnected on a local level. Then I met Janine Mason and realized that I had been missing out on connecting with people right in my own town.
Author’s Insights, part of Fieldstone’s Leadership Reading Group Program, hosted at Villa Musica in 2019 with author Elizabeth Cobbs
In 2018, I signed up for a book club to “test the waters” and very quickly connected with non-profit leaders from multiple sectors, who provided support, a sounding-board, and a special kind of camaraderie that had been missing for me in San Diego. The sparks and energy that ignited in that conference room each month left me feeling inspired, energized and (best of all) CONNECTED. I was hooked.
Next came the Executive Learning Group. We met for the first time in the Fall of 2019. The pandemic hit during our time together and I am absolutely sure that I would not have been able to navigate that time without the support of my cohort. We are still in touch today.
During this time, I also did some Stone-Catcher work and took part in The Equity Journey 1.0 and 2.0 with my Board Chair as we prepared to do some organization wide work on policy around DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging). This program was humbling, inspiring and beautifully transparent. I love that program facilitators, like Janine, could speak to feeling vulnerable and a bit overwhelmed; helping us all find our way on a sensitive and important journey.
Then I applied to the Fieldstone Coaching Program. I was pretty clear about my goals for this program. Maybe even a bit demanding! The coach that I was matched with was PERFECT. We worked on scary stuff. A succession plan (yeh, remember I’m a Founder, that’s BIG), a payraise (us Founders are truly terrible at getting paid at industry rates), and best of all we worked on my relationship with my staff and board. It was great to partner with my coach to dig into things I hadn’t had the courage to fully address on my own. The 360 feedback module I participated in was so enlightening. Every now and then I re-visit it to keep things in check.
My work with Fieldstone has enabled me to make connections in San Diego that are life-long. The people I have met through this work have provided so much over the past five years; a sounding board, a shoulder to cry on, a systems model, a construction contact, help to solve problem. In return I have done the same. The reciprocity and confidentiality that the network holds as bastions of its core values engenders a spirit of honesty, vulnerability and trust that I couldn’t be without now.
I am a better leader now. One who is vulnerable, able to step back and watch others take the floor. My “founder grip” is loosening and the organization is all the better for it. I can take time, go on vacation, breath, and laugh. Our team is small but mighty and I feel that my servant-style leadership model is working now that I have learned to receive as well as give. My work is both the most challenging and rewarding part of my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way. With Fieldstone by my side, I am finding balance.
Dr. Fiona L. Chatwin, Executive and Artistic Director, Villa Musica
Dr. Fiona Chatwin completed a Doctorate of Musical Arts from UCSD with a view to a joint career as both teacher and performer. With more than twenty-five years experience as a teacher of voice both here in San Diego and in Melbourne Australia (where she is from), Chatwin has worked with students of all ages, backgrounds and vocal disciplines. Chatwin has worked at both Community College and University levels designing curriculum for programs that range from music theory to opera, vocal music of the 20th century to improvisation.
In 2005, Chatwin founded Villa Musica – San Diego’s Community Music Center. Since its humble inception Chatwin has built Villa Musica into a musical home for aspiring musicians of all ages, providing a stable work environment for local teaching artists and, enabling access to music education for low income families and seniors across San Diego county through Villa Musica’s satellite initiative.
Chatwin’s affiliation with the National Guild for Community Arts Education has provided her with many opportunities to learn about administrative best practices and national standards of excellence. In 2013 she was chosen to participate in the highly competitive Community Arts Education Leadership Institute, and then in 2015 she was invited to participate as a guest faculty member. Chatwin is an ongoing presenter at the Guild’s National Annual conference, specializing in sessions pertaining to small organization start-up strategies, mentoring first time ED’s, and initiatives that highlight the power of collaboration. Chatwin’s practical and straight-shooting style is well received by guild members across the country and she has mentored many leaders through organizational growth and restructuring. Chatwin currently serves on three advisory boards for small organizations across the country. Chatwin has participated in Fieldstone’s Leadership Reading Group, Executive Learning Group, Coaching Program and is a current member of the All We Can Save Learning Circle.
Balancing the roles of CEO and Artistic Director, Chatwin embraces the entrepreneurial challenges that a young organization reveals, and has guided it through significant growth. It is with a steady and unyielding focus that she maintains Villa Musica’s mission in her sights as she navigates the challenging terrain of the non-profit arts organization of the 21st century.
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Fieldstone -There for Every Stage of My Growth as a Leader
I never planned to become a nonprofit CEO. I majored in theater, loved teaching kids, and after finding my passion for disability inclusion, joined the staff of Kids Included Together (KIT) as a program coordinator in 2003. I thrived under the leadership of Jan Giacinti, who encouraged me to help grow KIT from a local to an international footprint. I was so happy, and fulfilled, that it never occurred to me to aspire to the top job.
And then, I became the KIT CEO in April 2012. Suddenly, I was leading a multi-million-dollar budget, a large contract with the US Department of Defense, twenty employees, and an eighteen-member board, with no executive-level experience. Oh, and did I mention I had never fundraised? 
Thankfully, there was Fieldstone. Through the Executive Learning Groups, I gained a peer network, and a safe space to figure out how I would lead my organization. As the Fieldstone Social Entrepreneurship Fellow, I attended the Harvard Business School Executive Education program and then worked through what I learned with the consummate coach, Tom Hall. Together, we debated business models, and he helped me figure out how to pursue growth at a sustainable pace that would not burn out my team.
Through the network, I have had many opportunities to share my experience with other leaders. I’ve marveled at how Janine Mason, FlNSD founder, knows each member of the network well enough to highlight their unique talents and contributions to the field. For instance, recognizing the strength of my relationships with my board members, Janine invited me and my board chair to talk about our partnership at a Fieldstone @4 event. It’s when I really understood the Fieldstone value of reciprocity. So, in the first phase of the pandemic, when I was worried about my organization’s survival, and Janine called to ask me to present a webinar about remote work because she knew I led a team of 32 employees working across the United States, I said, “Yes, of course, I will.”
Torrie with other Clare Rose Sabbatical-Takers, Renato Paiva, Don Stump, John Malashock and Barbara Reuer, receiving the good news of her selection to take a sabbatical.
Now, I’m at a different stage in my leadership journey. With over 10 years as a CEO, and at least 10 years ahead of me, it was time for a reset. Through the Clare Rose Sabbatical Program, Fieldstone made it possible for me to take a four-month break from the responsibility of leading an organization. Calling it transformational sounds like a cliché, but it truly was, not just for me, but for my organization.
As I look back at my nonprofit leadership career, I see how Fieldstone supported me at every phase. I can think of no other educational or networking program that exists in this way and is devoted to the full development of the leader.
The story of an inexperienced, largely unprepared leader taking the reins of a growing organization could have had a disastrous ending. Luckily, thanks in part to Fieldstone, I’m still the CEO 11 years later, KIT has almost doubled in size, and we’ve now served childcare programs in all 50 states and 15 countries.
Torrie Dunlap, CEO, KIT
Torrie has participated in every Fieldstone Leadership Network program except the Book Club (which she does plan to do!). Currently, she is in training to facilitate the Network’s Learning Groups beginning in 2024.
Torrie has attended the executive education programs for philanthropy and nonprofit leaders at both Harvard and Stanford University. She has a degree from San Diego State University. Prior to joining KIT, Torrie worked for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Carlsbad and San Diego Junior Theatre. She is a frequent speaker and essayist on creating inclusive environments for children to thrive.
Each week during our 40th anniversary year, a member of our Network will share what Fieldstone means to them and how being a part of this learning and leadership community has impacted them and the work they do to serve the community.
If you have a story you would like to contribute to our collection, please contact Janine Mason.
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A Most Valuable Resource
Happy 40th anniversary to Fieldstone! What an incredible organization supporting our local leaders in the nonprofit community – Congratulations! This leadership network has been one of the most valuable resources throughout my journey as a nonprofit leader and I am so grateful for the shared learning, collaborations, and connections that I have benefited from directly, as well as the ripple effects Fieldstone has had for my staff team and our community.
I have learned so much about my leadership style through the resources provided in the network and by participating in many of the learning groups and coaching program. Our organization has also invested further both in time and budget into our staff and their personal and professional development, which has increased positive impact on the delivery of our important mission. During the time I have participated with Fieldstone, we have grown from a staff of under 10 to almost 35, expanded services from local to regional territories and increased our mission impact.
Elizabeth Schott with Fieldstone Leadership Network Founder, Janine Mason in 2021
I have personally developed connections and friendships throughout this community sharing tangible things like best practices and books, training templates and service providers, but also for moral support with good laughs, some tears, and great food & drinks 😊. I am forever grateful for the decade plus of support, guidance and resources I have received from this amazing network – thank you!
Elizabeth Schott, CEO, Accessity
In 2004, Ms. Schott joined Accessity, formerly Accion serving Southern California, a nonprofit microlending organization based in San Diego that serves small businesses throughout SoCal with educational resources and access to capital ranging from $300 to $100,000. Elizabeth participated in Fieldstone Executive Leadership Group Program 2012, Executive Coaching Program 2013, Fieldstone @ 4, Equity Journey 1.0 2020, Equity Journey 2.0 2021, and Center for Creative Leadership 360 Assessment through Fieldstone 2022.
In 2022, Schott was recognized at SD Business Journals 500 Influential Business Leaders Award and she is a past 2016 SBA Financial Services Champion of the Year awardee, 2014 San Diego Metro’s 40 under 40 Awardee and the 2012 3rd place SD Advance Fast Pitch Competition by Social Venture Partners. She served as a mentor for LEAD Advance, is a recent graduate of LEAD Influence 2022 and is an active volunteer and board member at various educational institutions. She enjoys traveling, the outdoors and spending time with her husband, 9 year old daughter and twin 5 year old boys.
Each week during our 40th anniversary year, a member of our Network will share what Fieldstone means to them and how being a part of this learning and leadership community has impacted them and the work they do to serve the community.
If you have a story you would like to contribute to our collection, please contact Janine Mason.
Read More