Executive Director

Overview

Garrett’s Space is an organization that offers connection, hope, and healing for young adults (ages 18–28) living with depression, anxiety, and/or suicidality. The organization was founded in 2018 after Julie and Scott Halpert lost their 23-year-old son, Garrett, to suicide one year earlier. Today, Garrett’s Space is shaped by a broader community committed to expanding supportive, accessible, and evidence‑informed supplemental support options for young adults living with depression and/or anxiety. Garrett’s Space is creating a continuum of programming designed specifically for participants to improve their mental health, foster meaningful peer and community connections, and provide supportive alternatives to traditional approaches that can feel inaccessible or unwelcoming to many young adults. At the heart of our programming is a co‑designed process with our participants, ensuring every offering reflects their needs, priorities, and lived experiences.

Garrett’s Space has a Residential Center under construction on 76 acres near Ann Arbor that will provide day programming and overnight stays for struggling young adults.

Position Summary

This is an opportunity for an entrepreneurial leader to guide Garrett’s Space into its next chapter, consolidating strategic leadership and management activities across the organization. It is a transformative opportunity to lead and grow an organization that offers life-changing support to young adults. As the organization expands programming, moving to comprehensive day programming and overnight stays, the Executive Director will play a pivotal role in ensuring the successful execution of Garrett’s Space’s mission. The Executive Director will also ensure that practices are documented and captured and that the operations and programming are replicable.

The Executive Director will be primarily responsible for leading the overall operations and strategy of Garrett's Space. Key duties include revising and implementing the strategic plan, coordinating staff collaboration, steering fundraising efforts, developing community partnerships, helping to plan for the Garrett’s Space Center, and ensuring that service offerings expand in ways that are co-created with young adult voices. The Executive Director will also manage the Garrett's Space Center once construction is complete.

The Executive Director reports to the Board of Directors, with the Board Chair as the primary point of contact, and supervises the staff. The Executive Director will work closely with the Board (including the Founders and the Board committees), consultants, and capital campaign volunteers.

Location: This role will start in a hybrid setting before shifting to full-time at the Garrett’s Space Center located in Ann Arbor.

Key Responsibilities include the following:

• Partner with the Board of Directors and staff to lead the revision and implementation of the strategic plan and advance the organization's long-term vision
• Build and sustain strategic partnerships with healthcare providers, community organizations, government agencies, and philanthropic partners to expand reach and impact
• Lead development of a sustainable business model that supports the expansion to day and overnight programming
• Lead fundraising in conjunction with the Founders and development staff across major gifts, grants, corporate partnerships, annual giving, and special events, and help guide the Build Garrett's Space capital campaign to a successful close
• Provide strategic oversight of operations, including administrative workflows, office transformation, information systems, documentation, compliance, communications, and impact tracking
• Recruit, develop, and retain staff, contractors, and volunteers
• Develop and implement the campus operational readiness plan in coordination with programming leads, subject matter experts, committees, the Advisory Council, and the Board on programming, safety, and financial matters
• Work in tandem with clinical experts to ensure compliance with high-standard safety and crisis response protocols

Who You Are

You are a strategic, empathetic, and entrepreneurial leader who thrives in mission‑driven environments. You build strong relationships, communicate with clarity, and lead with integrity and compassion. You excel in ambiguity, create systems where none exist, and balance participant‑centered values with the operational discipline needed to guide a rapidly evolving organization.

• Benefits include: health insurance, paid time off, holidays, and professional development funding
• Salary range is $120,000-$140,000