Friends United to Shelter the Indigent, Oppressed and Needy (FUSION) is an all-volunteer organization that provides safe and secure housing to homeless families so they can work toward self-sufficiency.

Over the past 25 years FUSION’s volunteers and supporters have given a hand up to more than 200 families in Federal Way and northeast Tacoma. But there is much more work to be done, as the problem of homelessness continues to grow in our region. The FUSION board has decided to meet that challenge by hiring a permanent executive director.

“FUSION’s work is complex, and critically important to the future of transitional housing in Federal Way and Tacoma,” said board president Byron Hiller in a press release. “We’re expanding our leadership so we can increase FUSION’s impact, and our new executive director will work closely with our terrific volunteers as the organization continues to evolve and innovate.”

“The organization is growing and I am really excited for a leader who can propel the changes in the organization,” said Peggy LaPorte, FUSION co-founder.

Thoughtful preparation is essential for any leadership transition, and the FUSION board has hired nonprofit leadership and governance strategist Randy Brinson as interim executive director to help pave the way for success with the permanent leader. Brinson’s job is to help the board refine the organization’s leadership structure, coordinate the board’s recruiting and hiring process, and support the successful onboarding of the new executive director.

“I’m so inspired by what I’m learning as I meet with volunteers and community supporters,” he said in the press release. “What they have accomplished is amazing, and whoever is chosen as FUSION’s executive director will be privileged to lead a very special organization. We look forward to posting the position profile very soon.”