I usually don’t cover the business and membership side of The American Ceramic Society on these pages, but today is an exception. I am sorry to report that ACerS today officially announced that Executive Director Scott Steen would be leaving the Society in order to take a new post in Washington, D.C., to become the CEO of American Forests, the nation’s oldest nonprofit conservation organization.
Steen leaves ACerS on great terms and we wish we could change his mind. He stepped up to lead the Society at an important turning point in its 112-year history.
I’ve worked with Steen for nearly three years and this blog would not be here today were it not for his enthusiastic support and critical feedback. His excellent intuition about communication and organizational strategy, not to mention a great eye for design, is reflected in the ACerS website, publications and newsletters. His support for innovation by staff and volunteer leaders has lead to many new types of meetings, conferences and outreach initiatives. He encouraged us to takes chances, praised our successes and easily tolerated our failures. A whiz at erudite humor and cultural references, he had a knack for making me and others laugh when work starting getting too tense.
… and the good folks at American Forests were pleased to provide us with a video of how they hope Steen dresses for the first day on his new job: