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Andy Goebel, chief executive officer at Sunstone Way, a nonprofit that operates homeless shelters for the city of Portland and Multnomah County, is taking a six-week sabbatical to deal with the stress of his job.
That’s according to a memo sent to staff by Sunstone Way interim board chair Jaime Dunn and obtained by WW.
“Recently, the board met with Andy and had a conversation about the stress that doing this work can bring,” Dunn wrote. “Andy was very honest about his own feelings of fatigue. Andy has been CEO of Sunstone Way for over four years now. He’s led with strength, courage, and unwavering dedication to our growth, and now he’s showing that same strength through vulnerability as he recognizes it’s time to take a needed break.”
Goebel, 49, has a master’s degree in divinity and once served as pastor at Portsmouth Union Church, according to his LinkedIn profile. Sunstone Way had revenue of $13.3 million in the fiscal year ended June 2024, according to federal tax filings. Goebel was paid $131,711 that year, the filing shows.
In April, Sunstone Way lost a contract to run one of the city’s tiny pod villages in Southwest Portland to rival provider Urban Alchemy.
In 2022, Sunstone Way, then called All Good Northwest, overbilled Multnomah County by $525,000, according to a report by County Auditor Jennifer McGuirk. Some $330,000 of that amount came from duplicated payroll expenses submitted for the same pay period in separate invoices, the auditor said. Goebel didn’t return messages seeking comment on the overbilling at the time.
On the matter of the sabbatical, Sunstone Way spokeswoman Devon Hoyt said: “This arrangement is not unusual. A portion of this time is accrued [personal time off] that Andy earned, and extended leave for senior staff through sabbatical policies is common across many mission-driven nonprofit organizations. Sunstone Way will continue to serve the community and bring people inside throughout the winter shelter season.”
