Executive Director

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Executive Director	Ms. Lynece Benton-Stewart
E-mail	lbstewart@healingartsprojectinc.org
Term Start	December 2018
Lynece's Experience: Ms. Benton-Stewart brings great experience to the Executive Director role, with over 20 years of clinical and nonprofit management experience. She is a licensed mental health counselor, and is pursuing her Ph.D. in Clinical Counseling: Teaching and Supervision. She previously worked at Park Center community health agency, where she served as Associate Director, and as Executive Director of Homeplace, Inc. an agency that supports the independence of individuals with intellectual disabilities. In 2017, she was awarded Valant's Behavioral Health Provider of the Year. Ms. Benton-Stewart is passionate about the use of art in the recovery process, is an art collector, and has worked with HAPI for many years - both as a partner through Park Center, and as a volunteer on HAPI's Board of Directors (measures were taken to ensure no conflict of interest when other board members made the selection). Her responsibilities in the Executive Director role include overseeing teaching and administrative staff; working with the Board of Directors to identify strategic plans and policies; lead efforts to gather evaluative data of HAPI's programs; and identify opportunities for growth through fundraising, partnerships, and service expansion. In the short time Ms. Benton-Stewart has been working for HAPI, she has already made great strides by streamlining management processes and clarifying/establishing plans for more robust evaluation data on HAPI's programs.

Staff

Full Time Staff	1
Part Time Staff	0
Volunteers	35
Contractors	13
Retention Rate	80%

Plans & Policies

Does your organization have a Fundraising Plan?	Yes
Does your organization have a Strategic Plan?	Yes
Years Strategic Plan Considers	3
When was the Strategic Plan adopted?	July 2024
Does your organization have a Management Succession Plan?	Under Development
Does your organization have a Policy and Procedure Plan?	Under Development
Does the organization have a Nondiscrimination Policy?	Yes
Does the organization have a Whistle Blower Policy?	Yes
Does the organization have a Document Destruction Policy?	Yes

Evaluation

Is there a formal evaluation for...		Frequency (if applicable)
CEO/Executive Director	Yes	Annually
Senior Management	N/A	N/A
Non-Management	Yes	Annually

Affiliations

Affiliation	Year
Nashville Arts Coalition	2012
Tennesseans for the Arts	2018

Awards

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Award / Recognition	Organization	Year
Agency Award for meeting the needs of persons with disabilities in the community, advocating, and networking with other agencies/organizations	Metro Nashville Mayor's Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities	2010
Emma25 Lifetime Service	Emma	2014
Honors for 25 HAPI artists exhibiting in Creative Expressions XXII at Vanderbilt Kennedy Center	Metro Nashville Mayor's Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities	2018
Model Project	NAMI Tennessee	2012

CEO/Executive Director/Board Comments

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In 2018, HAPI achieved greater financial growth and stability, enabling it to invest in the personnel support desperately needed to ensure the organization's success. The Board of Directors established a search committee tasked with creating a job description and holding interviews for an Executive Director position. The job description laid out duties and expectations including: working with the Board, overseeing the financial performance and viability of the organization, pursuing the mission and strategy, managing operations, and leading community engagement and partnerships. Requirements of the position were a bachelor's degree, senior nonprofit management experience, budget management skills, ability to work with multiple constituents, and strong communication skills. The job was posted in spring 2018 and, in December, the board selected Lynece Benton-Stewart as the new Executive Director of HAPI.