WASHINGTON, DC (January 30, 2019) – Service Year Alliance, a nonprofit with the mission to make a year of service a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans, announced that its CEO Shirley Sagawa will step down from her role this summer.
Sagawa: “As Service Year Alliance embarks on its fourth year, we are proud of our achievements. We have adopted a new business plan; begun work on a campaign aimed at the Presidential election; held a successful summit on opportunity youth to launch our work on equity and inclusion; built the capacity of ServiceYear.org and our program resources; acquired AmeriCorps Alums; and assembled a high quality team of staff, board members, and volunteers. Now seems like the right time to pave the way for the Service Year Alliance’s next leader. I have worked closely with our Board of Directors and Leadership Team to craft a strong succession plan.”
Service Year Alliance Board Search Committee, in partnership with On-Ramps, a NYC-based executive search firm, has launched a national search to identify Service Year Alliance’s next CEO. The search will be open to internal and external candidates with a focus on identifying the best, most qualified and diverse set of candidates possible. Service Year Alliance hopes to name a new CEO by June. Shirley Sagawa will actively support a successful transition and continue to help advance Service Year Alliance mission.
Sagawa: “At this moment in our nation’s history, we need to come together to find solutions to the challenges we face. Service Year Alliance, now as much as ever, remains committed to our mission, to make a year of service a common expectation and opportunity. Our country has never needed Service Year Alliance more than it does right now.”
Prior to becoming founding CEO of Service Year Alliance, Sagawa developed social innovation policy, authored reports, and advised national organizations and foundations on strategy as a partner with sagawa/jospin. Shirley Sagawa served as a presidential appointee in both the first Bush and Clinton administrations. She was First Lady Hillary Clinton’s first policy assistant and later deputy chief of staff. Sagawa drafted the AmeriCorps legislation and helped lead the start up of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) for President Bill Clinton. For President George H. W. Bush, she helped to start and served as vice chair of the Commission on National and Community Service. A visiting Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and adjunct faculty at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown, Sagawa is author of three books, including The American Way to Change.
For additional information or to interview Shirley Sagawa, please contact Thorsten Ruehlemann at 202-677-1863 or [email protected].
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About Service Year Alliance
Service Year Alliance is working to make a year of paid, full-time service — a service year — a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans. Expanding service years, with programs like AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, and YouthBuild, has the power to revitalize cities, uplift and educate children at risk, and empower communities struggling with poverty. Learn more at ServiceYear.org.
