Lee Rafferty, who has served as the executive director of Vancouver’s Downtown Association (VDA) since 2009, is stepping down later this year.
Rafferty said her decision stems from a desire to find a new challenge.
“I’ll be looking for something else, but don’t know what that will be,” she said. “I was on the Board here for six years and I’ve been executive director for seven. It has been a huge honor and pleasure, but I think I’m going to look for one more good challenge before I hang it up.”
Over the course of Rafferty’s tenure, downtown Vancouver has enjoyed a dramatic increase in the number of new businesses located there – from professional services to restaurants, coffee shops and breweries.
“Downtown is so different than it was,” Rafferty reflected. “It has been really fun to be a part of that and I think VDA has been a critical part of that.”
Michelle Thor, who serves as treasurer on the VDA Board, said she and the rest of the board have the utmost respect for Rafferty and the work she has done for the downtown community.
“Over the past 13 years, she (Rafferty) has helped shape our downtown into the vibrant community it is today,” said Thor. “Her diligent work with the Main Street Program, partnership with the City, businesses and community members has garnered the Vancouver’s Downtown Association Board and committee volunteers the ability to conduct business workshops, implement façade improvements, install flower baskets, host the ever-growing and vastly popular First Friday event, to name just a few of the many projects Lee has been a part of implementing in our downtown community.”
As a result of Rafferty’s decision, VDA has begun the search for a new executive director. The position is described as a full-time, high-profile position within the community that requires creativity, confidentiality and professionalism.
The nonprofit association is looking for candidates with at least three years of leadership experience in business, event production, project management and/or marketing in a downtown organization or highly-visible nonprofit organization. Successful candidates will also have organizational management experience, strong writing skills, public speaking skills and strong organizational, interpersonal and media relation skills. A bachelor’s degree is preferred.
“We are seeking a vibrant person to fill the executive director position, who will continue to deepen the relationships with our city leaders as we grow our downtown area,” said Thor. “With the waterfront development and more housing and businesses coming to our downtown, our new leader has a lot of opportunity to continue to increase the vitality of our downtown.”
According to Rafferty, VDA hopes to have its new executive director hired by July, and she will step down after a brief transition period.
“It should be a pretty smooth process,” she added. “We have so many great programs that are going, so it’s a great time for someone to come in and understand where we are and what we are doing. It’s a really healthy time to hand this off to someone. I’m really proud of it.”
For complete job description, visit https://vdausa.org/vda-employment-opportunities.
Interested candidates should submit a resume and a letter of interest to director@vdausa.org. Applications must be received by April 28.
