Copper River Watershed Project Board has selected Lisa Kennedy to serve as its next executive director. She will start her employment in mid-October, participating in the organization’s annual staff retreat during her first day on the job. Kennedy will replace current Executive Director Kristin Carpenter.
“I am very honored to begin working with the incredible staff and board of directors as appointed executive director for the CRWP,” Kennedy said. “Kristin has fostered and nurtured this organization for two decades, so I look forward to absorbing as much information from her as possible during our transition. Also, I am very excited to meet all the partners that have been critical for numerous collaborative projects throughout the entire Copper River watershed. I am thankful for this opportunity.”
Kennedy is in the final stage of finishing her doctorate in ecophysiology from Trent University studying shorebirds in the Canadian Arctic, and also brings her experience from managing remote field camps over the course of her study.
“For the board of directors, the process of finding a new Executive Director included initial denial, a steep learning curve, and the exciting process of interviewing many bright people who aspired to the job,” recounted board chair Robin Mayo. “As we realized what big shoes we needed to fill, we also had to recognize that the job is very different from the one Kristin first took 20 years ago, as sole employee of a brand-new dream.”
With input from the board and staff, the search committee sorted through several dozen résumés and interviewed people from Alaska and the Lower 48. The board is pleased to have found a new executive director who they feel embodies the passion and professionalism that this job requires, according to a CRWP release.
