Executive Director Transition

With the oncoming retirement of its long-serving director Robert Capanna in 2009, Settlement Music School faced a challenge. Capanna had led the school for over 30 years, during a period of dramatic expansion. Already a complex organization, with six satellite branches and a diverse range of programming, Settlement needed to prepare for organizational change and to find a CEO who could lead the organization into a new era. Center grant support allowed Settlement to hire a nationally recognized consulting firm to conduct a search for a new executive director, as well as support for interim senior leadership during the search and transition process. The process made for an orderly and strategic leadership transition, throughout which Settlement maintained its high-quality programs, strengthened its capacity, and embraced the future. 1

• 1. Management grants, through the Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative, were awarded from 2009 through 2013.