The Board of Trustees of Hope Springs is delighted to introduce you to our new Executive Director, Victoria Brown. Victoria comes to us with strong and diverse background in social equity, leadership and critical thinking. She is innovative and strategic.
If you are like most of us on the board, when you meet Victoria, you will wonder what wise woman lives inside this young soul. Victoria has been working for the last 7 years across myriad organizations to provide the much needed health and emotional care for many children in need in the Columbus area. Prior to that, she graduated from Berea College, a work study college in Berea, Kentucky that is known for producing strong leaders.
We cannot wait for you to meet Victoria. We believe, that like us, you will find that she is the exact right person to bring Hope Springs into her next incarnation. Welcome, Victoria!
~The Hope Springs Board of Trustees
A Note From Victoria Brown, Hope Springs' New Leader
It is with a joyous heart that I begin the process of stepping into the role of Executive Director at Hope Springs Institute.
I grew up on a small piece of land that was part of a larger family farm in Jackson, Ohio about an hour east of Hope Springs. It was my childhood and later experiences as a college student in Berea, Kentucky that gave me a deep and abiding love of place - a connection to the land and its ability to hold space for community. My later professional experience, centered on equity, reaffirmed my belief that we all belong to one another.
I first came to Hope Springs when I was given the gift of walking the property for a few hours with the current Executive Director, Jules Myers. What a wonderful introduction I was given to the sweet and quiet peace that comes from the land at Hope Springs. I remember being struck, not just by its aesthetic beauty, but also by the sense that years of other women had been walking the same patches of land as me. I felt I sensed those sisters in the grass and the trees that stood on the ridges around us.
When I attended the “Enter the Quiet” retreat I experienced the same sense, but this time I was embraced by the land, past sisters, and my present silent sisters also attending the retreat that weekend. I believe that this trio is what makes Hope Springs such a rare place. When you come to her you are held by those friends who are around you, by the land herself, and by the shadow of all those who came to seek peace in this place before you. In a way, it feels these three cannot be separated- past, present, and place all together there.
I look forward to getting to know this land more deeply-to walk with her through the seasons and see her shifting faces. I also look forward to stewarding her as she continues to hold space for her friends both old and new. I welcome the work to come and go forward with the knowledge that I am not alone. Indeed, I dive in knowing that 25 years of strength and love jump with me!
~Victoria Brown
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