National Association of the Deaf

The Board of Directors of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is pleased to announce members of the CEO Search Committee (CSC). These persons will lead NAD efforts to identify individuals whose leadership skills are well-qualified to succeed Nancy Bloch, the current Chief Executive Officer.

The CSC is chaired by Kirsten Poston with Melissa Draganac-Hawk as vice chair, both of whom serve as appointed members of the NAD Board of Directors. The full membership of the CSC is comprised of two representatives from the NAD Board of Directors, one representative from the NAD headquarters, one representative from NAD nonprofit affiliates, two representatives from NAD state associations, and two at-large NAD representatives:

• Glenn Anderson (AR), NAD at-large representative; faculty member at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and past chair of the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees.
• Mark Apodaca (NM), NAD state association representative; director of business and finance at the New Mexico School for the Deaf and president of the New Mexico Association of the Deaf.
• Kelby Brick (MD), NAD at-large representative; vice president at Purple Communications and former director of the NAD Law and Advocacy Center.
• Melissa Draganac-Hawk (PA), NAD board representative; adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania and past executive director of Deaf Women United.
• Larry Forestal (AZ), NAD nonprofit representative; faculty member at San Diego State University and vice president of the ASL Teachers Association.
• Jennifer Pfau (CA), NAD state association representative; manager for Sorenson Communications and co-chair of the NAD State Association-Affiliate Committee.
• Kirsten Poston (MD), NAD board representative; disability program manager for the Federal Highway Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
• Tom Wells (MD), NAD staff representative; employed at the NAD since 1996, current director of finance.

Biographical information on each of the above can be viewed online. NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins also serves as an ex-officio member of the CSC.

“The NAD performs essential visionary advocacy that impacts policy development for generations,” said CSC Chair Poston. “The CEO Search is a milestone event in the making; the successor will help the NAD confront the challenges of today and help chart the future of our community. We are confident the CSC will find leaders qualified to build on our battle for consumer and citizen equity.”

The NAD Board of Directors and the CSC are committed to taking steps to ensure that the search for the next CEO of the NAD is fair and transparent, and in compliance with equal employment policies and practices.

Bloch, appointed in 1992 as the first female executive director, will depart on March 31, 2011. The CSC is an internal succession planning committee formed by the Board of Directors to facilitate the search effort, which will identify and recommend candidates to be considered by the Board of Directors as the next CEO of the NAD.

About the CSC
Follow the CEO search! Get updates via Twitter at @NADtweets or visit www.nad.org/ceosearch for public announcements and captioned vlogs as well as CSC member bios, search timeline, notices of public meetings, announcements and other important information.

About the NAD
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) was established in 1880 by deaf leaders who believed in the right of the American deaf community to use sign language, to congregate on issues important to them, and to have its interests represented at the national level. These beliefs remain true to this day, with American Sign Language as a core value. As a nonprofit federation, the mission of the NAD is to preserve, protect, and promote the civil, human, and linguistic rights of deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States of America. The advocacy scope of the NAD is broad, covering the breadth of a lifetime and impacting future generations in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, youth leadership, and more.