The announcement that Tyla Sherwin-Cole was leaving Dress for Success Quad Cities to join the Doris and Victor Day Foundation on March 14 was great news for that charitable foundation.
The Day Foundation was clearly in need of a respected, proven leader to replace former executive director Dave Geenan. He was fired last November and charged with felony theft for allegedly stealing $40,000 from the well-regarded charity that boasts more than $17 million in assets and has donated more than $22 million to the community since it was launched in 1987.
“It was immediately clear that Sherwin-Cole was the right fit,” William Stengel, board president of Day Foundation, said in a news release announcing her selection. “Her experience played a major role in our decision and we know she will lead us into a new era.”
Her resume and the results she’s achieved at Dress for Success suggest they found the right woman for the job.
Betsy Green, president of Dress for Success Quad Cities Board of Directors, was among those celebrating those contributions in that organization’s statement announcing Ms. Sherwin-Cole’s departure.
“Tyla has been the driving force behind our growth and success as an organization,” Ms. Green said. She added that her organization will begin looking for a new “dynamic leader” who will help drive the organization’s mission: To empower women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and the development tools to help women thrive in work and life.
Ms. Sherwin-Cole said she is joining the Day Foundation because of the support it gives throughout the region, including to the women’s empowerment organization she just departed.
“They do so many great things,” she said of the Day Foundation. Among them are emergency assistance, affordable housing, child care, job training, support programs, scholarships and education, which have been the focus of many of the foundation’s grants.
We wish her well as she guides that impactful organization into the future.
For Dress for Success, the challenge now is finding a leader who can continue the strides that organization has made under Ms. Sherwin-Cole’s watch, and others including its founder Regina Haddock. Ms. Sherwin-Cole’s accomplishments include paying off the group’s mortgage on its new Davenport building two years early and expanding the HireHer program to include American Job Center cohorts.
“We cannot thank Tyla enough for the dedication, passion, enthusiasm and motivation she has given Dress for Success Quad Cities. She has left big shoes to fill — shoes that are probably leopard print heels,” the news release added.
We wish Dress for Success luck in finding a new leader who is ready to step into those very large, but stylish shoes.
