Kaia Sand Resigns From Street Roots After Going on Leave

Kaia Sand, who served for seven years as the executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group and street newspaper Street Roots, resigned from the organization last Friday.

As WW reported earlier this month, Sand quietly went on leave from the organization Oct. 31. It’s unclear what led to the leave, but a person close to the matter said it was not family or medical leave.

The Street Roots board declined to answer questions about what led to Sand’s leave and her ultimate departure from the nonprofit last Friday. The board also declined to say whether there was a separation agreement between Sand and the organization.

Sand, however, offered an account of her departure on Substack, where she says she will continue publishing her column that previously appeared in the Street Roots print edition. Working as executive director of the nonprofit, Sand wrote, was a privilege. She added that she’s now pivoting to writing a book about homelessness.

“I have ended my seven-year tenure leading Street Roots, the street newspaper in Portland, Oregon,” Sand’s opening line read. “Our Street Roots community accomplished a lot in these years, centering people experiencing homelessness and their collective knowledge, passions and aptitudes that are all too often disregarded by much of society.”

Sand wrote that while she’s proud of growth Street Roots has experienced during her tenure—including the opening of a new headquarters on West Burnside Street—the work had also affected her health.

“But, of course, my energy is finite, wish as I may it weren’t. The past seven years I never felt ‘off duty’ and carried in my heart the responsibility for the organization at all times,” Sand wrote. Sand added that the job has “taken a toll” on her health, something she says came into focus after being hospitalized after a bike crash in early September. “Goodness knows, while I recognize now I need to step aside to preserve my own health, I underscore that people [who] survive the streets are assaulted by a health crisis shocking in our land of plenty,” Sand wrote.

Sand did not respond to WW’s questions about the specific circumstances that led to her departure. Neither did Nick Bjork, Street Roots’ board chair.

Bjork says the board has hired Rebecca Nickels, a local consultant who has advised a number of area nonprofits, to serve as interim executive director. Nickels will begin Dec. 16. The Street Roots newspaper maintains editorial independence from the advocacy efforts overseen by the executive director, according to the nonprofit’s written policies.

“The organization won’t be commenting on personnel matters beyond this,” Bjork wrote.