From Hal Steiger and Bridget Bender:
Olympic Diving Champions are scored on a number of criteria including degree of difficulty and entry - no splash. These two criteria - degree of difficulty and no splash -came to mind as I reflected on Kim Rorie's tenure as our first Executive Director.
The story begins when our Administrator resigned. Suddenly we were in an organizational crisis with a high degree of difficulty. Absent an Administrator, MPSI was a ship without a rudder. We had bills to pay, programs to run, and a stunning amount of detail to attend to. I could go on, but you get the idea.
At that time Kim was a member of the Administration Committee that was conducting the job search for a new Administrator. When no viable candidate emerged, Kim offered to take the position on an interim basis. Later, and to our great relief, Kim decided to stay on becoming MPSI's first Executive Director with a whole new set of responsibilities on top of what she was already doing as Administrator. As our new Executive Director and with her characteristic calm professionalism, Kim went on to play a central role keeping MPSI organized and moving forward.
Now, after years of putting things in order, Kim leaves her position with a much improved MPSI. As a community we have benefited from Kim's exceptional organizational and leadership skills and her uncanny ability to bring out the best in others, all without drama, turbulence or splash.
Although Kim has stepped down as MPSI's Executive Director, she will continue to play an important role as Chair of our two-year Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program (PPTP) which is having its best year ever. And don't be surprised to see her name come up as a MPSI contributor in other ways. Oh, and due to Kim's habit of splashless entry you may not be aware that she is currently in a graduate program out of Chicago earning a PhD in Social Work and simultaneously receiving analytic training.
In honoring Kim, we are grateful for her boundless energy, her passion for psychoanalysis and her dedication to the communities that make up MPSI. These qualities have been especially conspicuous over the course of the last few months, where she has worked hard to ensure another splashless entry.
When we hired Heidi Holste as our new Administrator, we knew she was overqualified for the position. We hoped that she would be interested in eventually stepping into the role of Executive Director that Kim planned to vacate. We saw in Heidi a hard-working, energetic, ambitious leader and hoped that in time, she could learn our organization and ease into the role. None of us anticipated how quickly Heidi would prove herself ready to lead us into the future as our new Executive Director. She has exceeded our expectations in a fraction of the time we had planned and offers so much to MPSI. Heidi brings with her a variety of professional experiences that well-qualify her for this position, serving as Executive Director for two other organizations and working for over 20 years on public policy in local, state, and federal government relations. Her personal characteristics also make it clear she will be an exceptional leader for MPSI. Like Kim, Heidi is a hard-working, dedicated team player with enviable organizational skills. And although she has an eye for detail, Heidi is also able to think big and plan strategically. She offers unique perspective and is quickly learning the MPSI culture. She is easy to work with and enjoys being part of a team. Heidi lives in Rosemount with her husband, their three daughters, and two dogs. She enjoys staying active in her kids’ lives and watching them play sports, gardening, reading, learning new things, meeting new people, and traveling when possible. She is really looking forward to meeting all of you- in person!
Please join us in thanking Kim and wishing her luck in her endeavors and welcoming Heidi to our organization. We feel so fortunate for both of these amazing women.
Warmly,
Hal Steiger and Bridget Bender
MPSI