A Tribute to Sara K. Gould: Katie Grover

Dear Sara:

I've put this off a bit as I so quickly get choked up just thinking about writing this.

First there is the story of your professional trajectory. I remember being at an event twenty-some years ago when Marie introduced you as "the" authority on economic development. So from the very beginning, I respected what you contributed to a discussion. Your expertise in your field of study and your evident empathy and compassion for the lives of women and their families, who are impacted by unjust societal norms and structural policies, have always been impressive. As you became more and more entrenched at the Ms. Foundation, you got to know and understand every part of it.

Becoming the COO, you were a trusted manager and your leadership charted a course for the Foundation to pursue "best practices" around all of its internal operations and to project those best practices beyond our own policies and serve to inspire our grantees and colleagues to follow suit. Then as CEO, you moved to play a more external role, projecting the work of the Foundation, and taking it on the road. Your leadership has been marked by your pursuit of excellence; in your work with the Foundation staff, in our work with grantees, in our ability to collaborate and motivate partners to join our work (or us to join theirs), and in our drive to impact policy on behalf of women, especially women at the intersection of race, class, and gender.

Your great good judgment and personal style have placed the Ms. Foundation at the center of much of the work being done on social justice for women in this country. And your personal warmth, vision, and authenticity have made you a beloved figure in this field.

Now we get to the hard part. Anyone who has been in your orbit, or that of the Foundation's, could have said what I just did. But I, as the immediate past Board Chair, who served in that capacity for five years and as a board member for four years before that, have had the privilege and profound good fortune to have worked very closely with you over a significant period of time.

You've led the Ms. Foundation through many challenges and triumphs over those years. I watched you grow and push yourself to be a better leader. And I am humbled by the knowledge of how much I learned working with you. While I am proud to have been a partner in such a leadership team, I am even prouder to admit that it was not without its difficult moments; moments that we always managed to negotiate with respect, trust, an interest in understanding all sides of an issue, and a deep commitment to moving forward in the best possible way for the Foundation and the work that we feel so strongly about.

And since all of that time was also full with more than its share of laughter (think about the taxi ride at a conference in Salzburg) a lovely friendship was born. We've done what women have done for millennia: supported each other in our work, in our roles as wives, mothers, and daughters, and in our aspirations. I treasure that. And make no mistake...I'm counting on it going forward too!!! So thanks, for all you have given me and all you have made happen in your work at the Ms. Foundation.

Lots of Love and Best Wishes - Katie

Katie Grover, Immediate past Chair of the Board of Trustees

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A Tribute to Sara K. Gould: Kavita N. Ramdas

Well done!

Dearest Sara,

I cannot tell you how much your support and example and leadership have meant to me over the years. We have been friends since I first came to visit you as a Program Associate in 1988, when you were running the Economic Development Institute at the Ms. Foundation. I remember watching the terrible events of Tiananmen Square together in Atlanta at the Institute.

I remember joining the Ms. Collaborative on Women's Economic Development and Self Employment and meeting friends like Peggy Clark and Lisa Mensah. I remember you and me talking about having a baby and your funny antics (headstands, anyone!?). In 1995, you invited me to join the Ms. Foundation delegation to the Beijing Conference -- what a life changing experience and one that took me to the life work that I have pursued for 14 years at the Global Fund for Women.

I watched you lead as a partner and ally of Marie's and I watched you step into the role of CEO with such grace and confidence after Marie stepped down. You never failed to remember that the women you served were the ones we had visited together in public housing, on Lakota reservations, and poor communities in the Mississippi Delta. You built a strong and powerful foundation that was fierce in its pursuit of justice for women in the United States. You stepped in after Katrina devastated lives and made a real difference.

You created a vision and a brand for Ms. that will live on in a million ways. I hope you know how much you have done -- we do!

I have loved every minute of our friendship and as I began to think about my transition -- there you were again to help me review with wisdom and clarity what needed to be done -- what the important pieces of the process required, and how to keep myself together through it all.

You have been sister, ally and dear friend for so many years, I know it will never stop. Saying goodbye to something we love, even when we know we are ready to do so, is never easy -- so here is a poem by Palestinian American poet Naomi Shibab Nye that has helped me through it. It is my gift to you.

Adios

It is a good word, rolling off the tongue
no matter what language you were born with.
Use it. Learn where it begins,
the small alphabet of departure,
how long it takes to think of it,
then say it, then be heard.

Marry it. More than any golden ring
it shines, it shines.
Wear it on every finger
till your hands dance,
touching everything easily,
letting everything, easily, go.

Strap it to your back like wings.
Or a kite tail. The stream of air behind a jet.
If you are known for anything,
let it be the way you rise out of sight
when your work is finished.

Think of things that linger: leaves,
cartons and napkins, the damp smell of mold.

Think of things that disappear.

Think of what you love best,
what brings tears into your eyes.
Something that said adios to you
before you knew what it meant
or how long it was for.

Explain little, the word explains itself.
Later perhaps. Lessons following lessons,
like silence following sound.

– Naomi Shibab Nye

Kavita N. Ramdas, Senior Advisor (President and CEO 1996-2010), Global Fund for Women

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We'll Miss You, Sara! Share Your Own Tribute Online

With a healthy mix of sadness, gratitude and anticipation, we prepare for the departure of our beloved president and CEO, Sara K. Gould, who will leave the Ms. Foundation on November 19 to pursue an exciting new venture.

Please join us in recognizing and honoring Sara's extraordinary leadership by sharing a tribute to her online.

Tributes may take whatever form you choose -- personal remembrances or professional recollections -- to celebrate Sara and her legacy.

Help us thank Sara for her work and passion for the Ms. Foundation and her lifelong commitment to women's and social justice movements.

Submit your tribute. Read them all online.

We will miss you, Sara!