Dear Colleagues,

This is my thirteenth and final “Director’s Corner” and one that I am delighted to share with my successor as Executive Director, Dr. Denice Wardrop; she has contributed a short postscript at the bottom.

And speaking of Denice – I encourage you to get to know her (if you do not already) and engage in common work with her in the months and years ahead – I have had that privilege myself throughout my tenure and so was simply delighted to see her name among the applicants for ED. Although I was not part of the selection process myself (that’s the job of the Board), I was ecstatic to see a short-list of four incredibly high quality and well-qualified people, including Denice. I knew the Board couldn’t go wrong, and indeed they didn’t. Overall, it makes me feel very good to know that the CRC is in great hands moving forward.

Denice and I are already in the middle of what we are hoping can be “the best transition ever” and I’ve enjoyed working closely with her in the past six weeks. We share a commitment to ably piloting the staff and programs of the CRC through the unavoidable chop that comes with change, knowing that exciting destinations are ahead. She officially takes over on January 1, 2020, after which I will be the “part-timer,” continuing to help as I can and perhaps mainly with C-StREAM. If you do not yet know of that program, I ask you to please check it out and think about whether you can help us grow it. This program is one that many of us in the partnership, including the full CRC Board, Denice, and I, all agree is important. We need, however, to find additional funding and a coordinator to help us sustain and grow the program.

In this newsletter, you’ll find a very short piece about Denice and her credentials, but our outreach team assures me they are already planning a much longer interview for our next (February) edition – so please stay tuned for that.

Elsewhere in this newsletter, you’ll find an article about my tenure, including an interview of me and my background by Paula Jasinski, Green Fin Studio. Although I was thoroughly embarrassed by the concept of this article, I happily went along with the idea when Green Fin Studio proposed it, because the interview gave me a chance to brag about a few of the things I’m most proud of and to indulge myself with a “philosophical” point or two. Thus, it freed me (and you!) from such stuff here. Now that you’ve been warned, you can steer clear if you wish!

So I’m free to use my limited space here to simply say “thank-you” and “farewell” (not yet goodbye!) to all of the very many bright, dedicated, thoughtful, and hard-working people with whom I’ve had the honor and privilege of working for these past 5 five years. Over the course of my time at CRC, including the CBP’s 2017 mid-point TMDL STAC review process (which largely characterized my first year in office!); the over 20 STAC workshops I’ve watched our staff competently manage; meeting the plethora of highly competent CBP staffers that Melissa Fagan and CBP colleagues have expertly interviewed, hired, and supervised; and helping to plan seven different Chesapeake Community symposia (four of which preceded my tenure as ED and the next of which is in June 2020!), I have met and interacted with enough talented and dedicated individuals to fill a good-sized ocean liner – would that we could all take a cruise together! And among this large crew, it is the early-career research scientists, staffers, students, and other interns who have been most inspirational to me. These folks are the best; they give me great hope for the future, not only of the Bay and its watershed, but of the country and even the globe.

I’ll just close by thanking you each for all you do and asking you to please encourage your colleagues to also engage with the CRC. In this regard, I have worked hard with our Board to hone the CRC’s vision and mission statements. I strongly encourage you to read and consider them from your own perspectives – Denice and I have found them to be guiding lights as we help navigate this partnership toward a bright future.

Cheers!

Bill

 

Postscript from Denice Wardrop:

I’m quite certain that Bill’s humility will not allow him to fairly illuminate his role in the accomplishments of the CRC, and the trajectory of its activities, during his tenure. Suffice it to say that the opportunities that I can see for the CRC are only visible from a vantage point that stands on the shoulders of what has been accomplished. The potential scope of that future is what makes me so incredibly excited to assume the job in the new year. He has been an able captain, both of his own craft and the CRC; let’s wish him well on his new sailings.