Wintergreen
Nelson County, Virginia
From The Nature Foundation at Wintergreen
“TNFW TRANSITION and EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SEARCH UPDATE
To the Wintergreen Community,
I am very pleased to inform you that the Board of Directors has appointed Chuck Bailey as Interim Executive Director of TNFW, effective Friday, September 5. Chuck is a Geoscientist and award-winning faculty member and Geology Department Chairperson at his alma mater, The College of William and Mary. He holds graduate degrees from Johns Hopkins University and is immediate past president of the Geological Society of America. A member of TNFW’s Science Advisory Committee for a number of years, and more recently as a member of the Board of Directors, Chuck is committed to the mission of TNFW and is excited to immediately begin engaging with the Wintergreen community, TNFW members and staff to provide leadership as we move through this period of transition.
As I mentioned in my message to you in June, the pool of applicants in our search for a new Executive Director was excellent. We invited two outstanding finalist candidates to Wintergreen for interviews in early July, but unfortunately neither of them accepted our offer of employment. All of us who have worked on the search are disappointed that our initial effort did not result in an appointment. As a result, the Board of Directors unanimously recommended that the search be re-opened, which was done last week. A few changes were made to the job description to make the position more attractive. As of this date we have fifteen new applications. The search will remain open until September 26, during which time the search committee will conduct initial interviews of qualified candidates. We are optimistic that the current search process will yield candidates who will be invited to Wintergreen for in-person interviews in October.
Let me conclude my message by saluting Doug Coleman, TNFW’s founding Executive Director. Doug has made the transition from his leadership responsibilities to Executive Director Emeritus, as Chuck Bailey begins his tenure as Interim Executive Director. Doug’s extraordinary vision for over 40 years has established TNFW’s reputation as the leading scientific research and non-profit educational organization of the Central Blue Ridge Mountains. Our community, including Wintergreen Resort and the Wintergreen Property Owners Association, is unique in the nation to have TNFW as a partner insuring both perpetual preservation and growth of scientific knowledge of the natural resources of this special place.
Thanks to all of you who have generously supported the work of TNFW.
Brent Douglass, President, TNFW”
