Changes are afoot! My name is Susan Kistler and I am just about to become the American Evaluation Association’s Executive Director emeritus. I’ve written before about my stepping down and my last official day in this position is this coming Monday, May 20. I’ll continue to write for aea365, and will be working on the Evaluation 2013 conference program, but will be moving on to new and exciting opportunities and serving AEA primarily in a volunteer capacity. The new staff team coming on board brings a breadth and depth of knowledge of management and communications that represents a significant increase in AEA’s organizational capacity. I can’t wait to see what new things come about in the months ahead.
Rad Resource – Denise Roosendaal: AEA is searching for a permanent Executive Director (see the position description here). In the meantime, Denise Roosendaal, CAE, is the interim ED and may be reached at droosendaal@eval.org. Denise brings to the position twenty-five years of experience in running nonprofits and associations and she can’t wait to get to know more about AEA and evaluation. If you are attending the Summer Institute next month in Atlanta, be sure to stop by the registration desk and to say “hello.”
Lessons Learned – What to Expect: You likely won’t see major changes in AEA’s programs and services in the near-term and only improvements in the long-term. aea365 will continue to come out daily under the watchful eye of Sheila Robinson, our lead volunteer curator (she may be reached at aea365@eval.org). The association will have a new phone number (1-202-367-1166) but the old one will forward until the end of June. There will be new voices on the other end of the phones, but with the same commitment to serving AEA. We ask that you are patient in the next few weeks as the new staff gets up to speed. If they don’t know the answer, they’ll find it and get back to you expeditiously.
Get Involved – Share Your Ideas: Have a great idea for something new for AEA? Email Denise at droosendaal@eval.org or put it in the comments on aea365.
Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.
Susan –
Thank you for all the work you have done to make AEA a world class association. You leave a legacy, and big shoes to fill. Good luck in your future adventures!
Thank you, Susan, for all you have done for AEA over the years – and for really ‘walking the walk’. Not only doing evaluation to others, but really incorporating evaluation into how you work to inform ongoing improvement and appropriate choices between options. You’ve been an inspiration! Best of luck in your new ventures.
Dear Susan, you have been an amazing director and friend of all evaluators for all the years I have been a member. Your love for the AEA and your personal commitment to quality, service, and fairness has made it a warm and rich professional home for all of us. Your competence in the profession of evaluation and your good judgement made the AEA wiser at the many crossroads the AEA encountered. I look forward to continuing to work with you in your new capacities at AEA, and wish you all the best in the new directions of your career.
Susan, thank you for all you’ve done for AEA. AEA365 would have been enough, but I know your contribution has been much more than that. I wish you the best in the next phase of your career.