The Switzer Foundation is seeking an Executive Director to continue cultivating and stewarding the Switzer Network as a force driving positive environmental change.
After eight years of exceptional leadership, Executive Director Sarah Reed, PhD, will be transitioning out of her role by the end of 2026.
Sarah leaves the foundation in strong condition: operationally sound, mission-aligned, and positioned for what comes next. Her tenure included modernizing our operations, evolving governance, building a thriving Fellows Advisory Committee, and driving the nationwide expansion of the Switzer Fellowship program.
Sarah put it best: "The Executive Director position is a meaningful and impactful role, during an especially challenging moment for the environmental community. With an experienced staff, board, and FAC, the Switzer Foundation is strong and well-positioned for the next step." See below for letters to the Switzer Network from Sarah and the Board of Trustees.
We agree, and we are committed to honoring her legacy through a transition that honors what we've built, protects what matters, and sets the next leader up to lead from strength. The foundation has engaged Naomi Hattaway, President and Lead Advisor at 8th & Home, through the Leaving Well™ methodology to lead the executive search and support a thoughtful transition. We are looking for a leader who can build on Sarah's foundation and help chart the way to a better future for environmental leadership.
Find the position description and instructions to apply below. Applications are due by 5pm central, July 28, 2026.
Switzer Fellows and colleagues, this network and your connections are exactly where our next team leader may be found. Please share widely.
Position Summary
The Executive Director (ED) of the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation (Switzer Foundation) cultivates the next generation of environmental change-makers, mobilizes a diverse set of leaders from all disciplines, and builds a network that promotes integrated solutions to environmental problems. With one foot rooted in vision and the other in implementation, the ED collaborates with a small and talented staff to manage programs that include awarding academic fellowships and project grants, sponsoring professional and leadership development activities, and fostering a growing national network of Switzer Fellows, other environmental practitioners, and organizations.
In addition to cultivating and stewarding the Switzer Network as a force driving positive environmental change for the benefit of natural and human communities, the ED leads with relational intelligence and genuine care for the people who make achieving the mission possible — staff, fellows, and board members. This leader actively shapes and protects a culture committed to excellence and integrity, equity and inclusion in practice, and the kind of collaborative environment where both people and ideas can thrive.
The environmental community is navigating a period of headwinds—political, financial, and cultural. For the Switzer Foundation, this moment calls for clarity of purpose and steadiness of leadership. We are seeking an Executive Director who leads with conviction and optimism, who can hold space for the anxieties of a community under pressure while keeping that community oriented toward the future and what's possible. The ideal candidate brings both the vision to chart a credible path forward and the relationship depth to sustain the trust of fellows, staff, and partners along the way.
See the full position description here.
Organization
The Switzer Foundation is a results-driven family foundation that invests in individuals and organizations that drive positive environmental change. Through our core program, the Switzer Fellowship, and related grants, the foundation identifies and nurtures environmental leaders who have the ability and determination to make a significant positive impact and supports initiatives that will have direct and measurable results to improve environmental quality and advance social equity. The Executive Director is the chief steward responsible for ensuring that this community continues to grow, to collaborate, and to matter.
The foundation also sponsors professional development and networking activities for the Switzer Network, comprised of nearly 800 Switzer Fellows who are leaders in the nonprofit, public policy, philanthropic, academic and government sectors working to solve today's environmental challenges.
How to Apply
Submit the following in a single email to support@8thandhome.com, subject line: [Last Name] - Switzer ED Search
- Resume
- Letter of interest
- A response (we’d appreciate 250 words or fewer) to one of the two prompts below — applicant's choice
Prompt A:
Switzer exists to support environmental leaders, currently nearing 800 Fellows. Tell us about a moment in your career when supporting someone else's leadership mattered more than exercising your own.
Prompt B:
Name one shift you believe will reshape how foundations like ours—including those with leadership development or fellowship programs—operate over the next five years. Then tell us what decisions or actions a new executive director could take in year one in response.
Deadline: July 28, 2026, 5:00pm Central
What to expect: This search is managed by the 8th & Home search team. Given anticipated interest, we are not able to send individual confirmation of receipt. Applicants advancing to a screening interview will be contacted directly by the 8th & Home team, with screening interviews scheduled for August 10–12, 2026.
The Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation is committed to equal opportunity employment and does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental ability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.
We are committed to building a team that reflects the communities and fellows it serves. All are welcome and encouraged to apply, and we actively encourage applications from candidates who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color; those who were first-generation college students or from underrepresented institutions; and candidates from disciplines beyond traditional environmental disciplines.
