CNCS Announces New CEO, Board of Directors

Last week, the Corporation for National and Community Service announced a new Chief Executive Officer to lead the federal agency, which engages more than 1.5 million individuals in service each year through programs including AmeriCorps and Senior Corps. Furthermore, CNCS announced the confirmation of four bipartisan leaders from the nonprofit, civic, and corporate sectors to serve on its board of directors.

Last fall, NYLC CEO Kelita Bak released a formal statement of support in response to President Barack Obama’s nomination of Wendy Spencer as CNCS’s CEO. “Wendy is a dedicated servant leader, whose passion and drive for engaging Americans of all ages in national service is truly inspiring,” stated Bak. “With the recent loss of funding for Learn and Serve America, and the threatened cuts to national service at large, CNCS deserves an effective and dedicated leader. Wendy is eminently qualified for this role.”

In addition to a new CEO, the agency has announced that the U.S. Senate has confirmed four bipartisan leaders from diverse sectors to serve on its board of directors. New to the board is Rick Christman, of Lexington, Ky., CEO of Employment Solutions; Marguerite W. Kondracke, of Tennessee, CEO of America’s Promise Alliance; Lisa Garcia Quiroz, of New York, Senior Vice President of Corporate Responsibility for Time Warner, Inc.; and Phyllis N. Segal, of Boston, Mass., Vice President of Civic Ventures, a nonprofit think tank.

NYLC will be highlighting these announcements and continuing the conversation about how CNCS can support service-learning without funding for Learn and Serve America at the 23rd Annual National Service-Learning Conference and youthrive PeaceJam Leadership Conference next week in Minneapolis, Minn. NYLC joins the national service and service-learning fields in thanking Robert Velasco for his leadership and service as Acting CEO and CNCS Board of Directors for their commitment to national service and service-learning.

To read the official press release announcing Wendy Spencer and new CNCS board members, visit the CNCS newsroom.

Photo courtesy of the Corporation for National and Community Service.