Current and former employees of Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron are raising concerns about the work culture and leadership of the historic estate. An anonymous email and interviews with 10 current and former staffers and volunteers detail concerns about the management style of President and Executive Director Jennifer Highfield.

Leadership and Turnover

Issues related to Highfield’s management style include a high rate of employee turnover, miscommunication, and low morale at the nonprofit. The anonymous email states that about 50 full-time staff members have left Stan Hywet since Highfield’s appointment in September 2022, with the majority of those exits being voluntary.

A former employee who left Stan Hywet in 2025 said that the estate employed around 47 full-time and part-time year-round staff members at its highest, with seasonal employees bringing the total to just under 100 workers. The nonprofit’s 2023 annual report shows that 758 people volunteered at Stan Hywet that year.

Response from Stan Hywet

Stan Hywet’s Board Chair Lindsey Tomaszewski said in an email that the board is aware of the anonymous email and is handling it through the appropriate internal process and channels. Tomaszewski expressed confidence in Highfield’s leadership and stated that the board remains actively engaged in all aspects of organizational oversight.

Highfield previously worked at Stan Hywet from 2006 to 2010 and served as the president and CEO of the National First Ladies’ Library in Canton from 2018 to 2022. She was hired as the president and executive director of Stan Hywet after a nine-month search by an outside firm.

Original reporting: Signal Akron — read the source article.