CEA’s Managing Director is leaving CEA to join a new DC field-building organization

[from Max] I am writing to share that CEA’s Managing Director & Head of Groups Joan Gass will be leaving CEA this month to co-found a field-building organization that will help people pursue technology-related policy careers in Washington, DC.

I feel bittersweet about this news. I’m sad to be losing the advice, thought-partnership, and energy that Joan brought to CEA over the last three years, but I’m thrilled that she will be doing critically important work in the policy sector.

One of the key signs of success for a manager is the ability to hire and support excellent people to carry forward work. I’m excited about the strong leaders, Rob Gledhill, Jesse Rothman, and Jessica McCurdy who will be carrying forward Joan’s work at CEA: Rob has increased satisfaction from a 4.7 to 6.1 (on a 7 point scale) for participants on the City & National groups program, and helped to hire many excellent local organisers in key locations. Jesse and Jessica have received excellent feedback (>9/10) for the University Groups Accelerator Program, and helped to seed over 30 groups (with many more planned later in the year). Catherine Low and Brian Tan have also played a critical role helping provide broad support and access to resources for 250+ university, city, national, workplace, and identity groups.

This transition embodies one of our values at CEA - an alliance mentality. We believe that the change we want to see in the world will come through a coalition, not a single organization. As a result, we support our staff to find the best way for them to contribute – even if that role is outside of CEA. I think Joan is helping set up a very important project, and I’m grateful for the work she did at CEA. We all wish Joan the best in her new role.

I'm incredibly grateful for the growth and learning opportunities I've had at CEA. It's been unparalleled in my career to date - both in terms of personal development and impact. It’s been gratifying to see the Groups team explore several areas and double down on high value programs that compliment other CEA programs, showcase skills on the team and build on positive feedback from group leaders. I believe the Groups team has strong leadership from Rob Gledhill, Jesse Rothman, and Jessica McCurdy with the support of Catherine Low and Brian Tan. I’m particularly grateful for Max Dalton’s thought-partnership over the years, including during this transition, and his alliance mentality when this opportunity arose. I look forward to remaining involved as an active advisor and to seeing CEA continue to grow!