On Friday, August 30, 2019, the board members of the Minnesota Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing (MNCDHH) held an open special meeting to receive the Executive Director Search Committee recommendations and decide if they will submit a job offer to one of the finalists.
The board decided to submit a conditional offer to Darlene Zangara, Ph.D. The offer is subject to acceptance of the offer, background and reference checks, approval by the governor, and any other processes that might be required.
Search Process
This is another step forward during this long search process, which included:
- Creating a search committee with community stakeholders and board members. The following organizations sent a representative: Hearing Loss Association of America - Twin Cities Chapter, Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens (MADC), Minnesota Deaf Muslim Community, Minnesota DeafBlind Association, Minnesota Hands & Voices, and St. Paul/Minneapolis Black Deaf Advocates.
- Gathering community input on the important qualities needed in the next Executive Director.
- Drafting the job posting, which included minimum and preferred qualifications.
- Developing the interview questions and scoring rubric (criteria).
- Designing the interview process, which included the first round of interviews via video and the second round of interviews in person.
- Selecting the candidates to interview from the list of ten resumes forwarded by Human Resources (HR) who met the minimum qualifications.
- Establishing an interview committee that included representatives of MNCDHH's board and major stakeholder groups. This committee interviewed the five chosen candidates on August 9 and narrowed the list down to three finalists.
- Inviting three finalists to a second interview, who consented to having their names, pictures, and bios shared with the public.
- Discussing and coming to a unanimous decision to recommend one finalist to the board.
Stay up to date
For updates, follow MNCDHH's newsletter, website, videos, and social media. We will continue to share information as the board takes the next steps following up on today's decision.
If you have questions, contact Board Chair Michele Isham at misham@bentonstearns.k12.mn.us.
