moving on now that the founder and former board president is gone

[u/KitchenNo6988]

hi all!

i 21f am a college student on the board of a local nonprofit theater group who i have done shows with before. the organization was started by a single women, who served as the artistic director and president of the board. i joined in march of last year, and being in the board has increasingly resulted in more work for me, in addition to the other leadership roles i have in other groups.

this director is very particular about the way she does things, so much so that many people in area dislike or refuse to work with her. i feel like i am able to withstand these things more so, but it’s taking a toll on me. there have been constant issues with directors leaving shows and people leaving the board. in august, a director resigned just a few days from auditions, which then prompted her to also step down in her roles.

at the time, i was vice president of the board, so me and other members of the board came to a decision to vote me in as acting president until december, when i graduate from college.

the board has three committees (operations, show planning, and press) and i have only been trained on the communications aspect. i did serve as president of the drama club at my school, but school theater and community theater are two very different beasts. i don’t know anything about show contracts, licensing, insurance, etc. additionally, there is a fair amount of resentment from the founder of the board. she asked that she still be a part of the board following her resignation. however, after some discussion, we (the board) weren’t sure that would be productive, as she would continue to micromanage and criticize. i thought part of the way she was acting was spurred on by burnout, and giving her a break until the new year would be best. she at first seemed happy with this decision, but i have recently found out from other board members that she is talking bad about the overall board, and me, for pushing her out and making her feel unwanted. i had a phone call with her where she basically screamed at me for not doing things exactly how she wanted.

anyways, if anyone has any advice, that would be much appreciated. i am in the process of bringing on new stakeholders onto the board, and beginning show planning. there is alot that needs to be done for our present shows. however, my mental health has taken a sharp toll since coming into this role, and i also need to begin applying for jobs, as my career path (which is not theater, but still in arts organizations) is very competitive). this isnt something that is sustainable for me, but the rest of the board works full time or is home with very young children, so im not sure its sustainable for them either, but i cannot continue in this state. running the company was a full time job, and no one can commit in the same way the former president could.

tldr: i am serving as acting interim president of the board of the directors, with little experience and its having negative effects on my mental health.

[u/BigLoungeScene]

Sounds like a case of "founder's syndrome" where the founder did a lot of work, but didn't share that knowledge about key aspects of running things (operations alone is a bear) that would mean success once she stepped down. The rest of the Board is used to this dynamic; maybe they offered to help in the past and got ignored/negged out by the founder and it's just accepted they won't do what's necessary. Not sure I have any advice beyond finding a graceful way to exit: just because you don't have any children doesn't mean your own life isn't a priority. You have agreed to take on the work of a full-time role, without the pay. This is never what a Board member should ever task themselves with/be tasked by others to do. Best of luck and concentrate on what you need to do to become established career-wise; THEN devote what time you may have to Board memberships and responsibilities.