photo by: Contributed/Van Go

Van Go announced its new co-executive directors, Eliza Darmon, left, and Kristen Malloy on Feb. 1, 2021.

Updated at 6:10 p.m. Tuesday

Lawrence’s arts-based social service agency Van Go Inc. announced Monday that it will now be led by co-executive directors.

Longtime staff members Eliza Darmon and Kristen Malloy started their new positions on Jan. 1 after unanimous approval from Van Go’s board of directors, according to a press release Monday. Darmon, who was formerly the organization’s development director, specializes in development and operations. Malloy, who previously served as director of programs, specializes in program administration and human resources.

The organization’s previous executive director was Carol Kobza, who was hired in November 2018. Jennifer Roth, the 2021 board president, said in an email to the Journal-World that Kobza served as executive director at Van Go from January 2019 to March 2020. Roth declined to say why Kobza and the organization parted ways, but she said in response to a question from the Journal-World that “there were no issues of financial wrongdoing” related to the change in leadership.

Roth said that Darmon and Malloy had been leading the organization in an interim capacity since March 2020, prior to being officially named as co-executive directors. John Bullock, the 2020 president of Van Go’s board of directors, said in the release that Darmon and Malloy did an “exceptional” job leading Van Go in 2020.

“Together we look forward to creating a model of leadership at Van Go that exemplifies the invaluable job skills of teamwork, collaboration, communication and shared leadership that we teach our youth every day,” Darmon and Malloy said in the press release. “Last year’s challenges affirmed the benefits of this integrated approach. It is with deep respect for one another and reverence for Van Go’s roots that we will steward this cherished organization into the future.”