Dear EPIP Community,

This year, EPIP celebrates 25 years of cultivating leadership, building community, and advancing equity in philanthropy. As we look ahead to the unveiling of our new strategic framework later this year, I find myself reflecting not only on what we’ve accomplished together, but how we’ve chosen to lead.

For nearly a decade, I’ve had the privilege of serving EPIP—as a member, chapter leader, board member, Director of Programs, and now President and CEO. Through every chapter of this journey, I’ve carried a deep belief in the power of emerging leaders to transform our sector—and in the responsibility of organizations like ours to lead by example.

Beginning May 1, I will step away from my role for a two-month sabbatical, returning with intention in July. This sabbatical is both personal and deeply aligned with the values we champion: the belief that leadership must be sustainable, human, and rooted in care—not just for the communities we serve, but for those who carry the work forward.

Last year, EPIP hosted our largest national conference to date in New Orleans, reuniting our community after years of pandemic disruption. It was a moment of visible joy, leadership, and renewal. And yet behind that celebration, I was quietly navigating one of the greatest losses of my life—caring for my mother, my anchor and first model of justice, through the final stages of her life. Behind the joy was an invisible labor of love, care, and heartbreak.

Leadership often demands invisible labor: the quiet endurance, the steady hand, the unseen grief behind the podium. It is a labor that women of color in leadership know all too well—frequently expected, rarely acknowledged.

This year, I’m honoring the space that grief demands—stepping away not because the work is less urgent, but because I’ve learned that true leadership sometimes means knowing when the work must wait. These two months are not just a sabbatical; they are a reclamation of humanity, a commitment to healing, and an act of care not just for myself, but for the future of leadership itself.

It is also part of a broader shift within EPIP. For the first time in our history, we are building a sabbatical program that will extend to all staff—a recognition that rest is not a reward for survival, but a right rooted in dignity. Our future demands leaders who can sustain themselves and their communities—not through exhaustion, but through renewal.

During my absence, our Chief Financial Officer, Michelle Cooper, will serve as the primary point of contact for organizational matters, supported by our Leadership Team. I’m deeply grateful to our board and staff for their leadership, partnership, and care during this time.

Thank you for believing in EPIP—and in the future we are building together: a future where leadership is not synonymous with burnout, but with wholeness, courage, and collective flourishing. I look forward to returning this summer, renewed in spirit and ready for all that comes next.

With care and immense gratitude,

Storme Gray
President & CEO, EPIP