Press Release

The Rothko Chapel Announces Interim Executive Director

September 29, 2014

Claudia Horwitz brings over 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience to organization

HOUSTON (Sept. 29, 2014) The Rothko Chapel announces Claudia Horwitz as its interim executive director. Horwitz joins the Rothko Chapel from stone circles at The Stone House in North Carolina, where she served as a founding executive director for 17 years.

Horwitz replaces Emilee Dawn Whitehurst, who served as the Rothko Chapel executive director for seven years. Horwitz will lead the Rothko Chapel while the board conducts a formal search for an executive director.

“During Emilee’s tenure, the Rothko Chapel excelled as a dynamic force that delivered engaging, meaningful programming for the community. She has been an energetic leader who devoted herself tirelessly to our mission of contemplation and action,” said Christopher Rothko, chair of the Rothko Chapel board. “While Emilee’s leadership will certainly be missed, we are delighted to introduce Claudia Horwitz as interim executive director.”

Horwitz has been a national leader in the movement around spiritual activism and brings a deep understanding of nonprofit leadership and group management. She founded stone circles at The Stone House in 1995 to strengthen and sustain people working for transformation and justice. Based in North Carolina, The Stone House is a

retreat center for spiritual renewal and social change, created to inspire contemplation and action.

A fellow with the Rockefeller Foundation’s Next Generation Leadership Program and the Echoing Green Foundation, Horwitz helped found and served on the board of the Season Fund for Social Transformation. She also worked closely with the Kellogg Foundation as a facilitator for its “America Healing” initiative.

Horwitz holds a masters degree in public policy from Duke University and a bachelor of arts from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of numerous articles and the book The Spiritual Activist: Practices to Transform Your Life, Your Work, and Your World. 

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