Farewell Letter from Erin Pulling, President & CEO
Project Angel Heart has never been just a job for me, but a large part of who I am and a great source of pride. That’s why it’s so difficult to share some big personal news with you. After 14 years as CEO and nearly 24 years total at Project Angel Heart, I announced in October that I will be leaving the organization in December.
I can promise you that this decision did not come lightly. I am leaving a position I absolutely love. I work with an incredibly supportive, innovative, and high-functioning board of directors. I am inspired daily by a staff team with unparalleled talents, constant drive for excellence, and willingness to inject quite a bit of humor and fun along the way. And I’m deeply motivated by you—our donors and volunteers. Your personal stories inspire me and touch my heart every single day. Working on behalf of Project Angel Heart’s community has been one of my life’s greatest honors.
I fell in love with Project Angel Heart immediately—the mission, the clients we serve, and especially the people who make it all happen. My love of our work and impassioned pursuit of greatness for Project Angel Heart has never wavered. Rather, it has grown as we have pushed the envelope on what is possible. We’ve advanced, from a food service provider to the creator of incredibly high-quality, medically tailored meals. We’ve evolved, from a believer in nutrition to a champion for the power of food as medicine, with groundbreaking research and innovative health care partnerships. We’ve grown, from a struggling, grassroots organization to a leading Colorado nonprofit with rates of growth more than double the national averages.
And while I’m proud of these accomplishments, they aren’t about me. They’re about you. You’ve trusted, supported, and partnered with our team as we’ve taken bold leaps and achieved some audacious goals—such as a successful capital campaign that industry experts said was too large for us to pull off, the largest research project in the US studying health care cost savings tied to medically tailored meals, and the 40 percent increase in meal production we accomplished just this month!
Project Angel Heart is just getting started, and I am excited to see what is ahead. I have no doubt that it is continued greatness.
I’m not going far. I will remain steadfast in my support of Project Angel Heart as a donor and volunteer. And I will continue to work to positively impact hunger and nutrition in our community as I take on a new opportunity as President & CEO of Food Bank of the Rockies.
I will remain at Project Angel Heart through mid-December, working with our staff and board of directors to position the organization for new leadership and a smooth transition. With our fantastic team in place, Project Angel Heart will not miss a beat. Our board of directors will be launching a search for a new president & CEO. And, when I step aside in December, two exemplary and brilliant members of our team will lead Project Angel Heart as co-interim CEOs: Amy Fleming, senior vice president, and Jennifer Lackey, vice president of development.
Thank you for your partnership in creating the Project Angel Heart we all know and love, a place that was never just a job for me and which I will always consider home. I look forward to our continued work together as fellow donors and volunteers. I can’t wait to see what our future holds.
Sincerely,
Erin Pulling
President & CEO
Join us on Thursday, January 10, from 4:30-6:30pm for an open house to say farewell to Erin. Click here to RSVP.