Craig Cox to Join EWG in August

Craig Cox, SWCS Executive Director for the past ten years, will be joining the Environmental Working Group as Midwest Vice President and will establish a new regional office for that organization in Ames, Iowa later this year. The new EWG office will be the focal point of the organization’s work on food, agriculture and biofuels policy, with program staff in Iowa, Washington, DC and California. His last day with SWCS will be August 1st, 2008.

In an announcement letter to members and colleagues, SWCS President and West North Central Regional Director Peggy James wrote, "Craig is highly respected and has carried SWCS to the forefront of environmental issues. His leadership skills and professional reputation are unprecedented in the science of soil and water conservation. We face a challenge in finding someone to fill his shoes but also have an important opportunity to find an Executive Director who can lead the Society into the next decade."

"The Board of Directors and staff have worked hard over the past year to develop a handful of 3- to 5-year goals that we think will build SWCS’s capacity as a professional society and a leader in the conservation community. Although we hate to see Craig go, we are in a good position to tailor our search for a new Executive Director whose skills and experience will ensure we meet those goals," continued James.

“The ten years I have spent as your Executive Director has been the most rewarding and enjoyable years in my career in conservation,” Craig told the SWCS Board of Directors this week. “I’ve decided to leave because it is time for me to take on a new challenge and because I think the growing natural resource and environmental challenges we face require a type and intensity of advocacy that is just not appropriate for SWCS. Joining the Environmental Working Group will be the new challenge I am looking for and the perfect home for the kind of advocacy we need to advance the cause of soil and water conservation. I may be leaving as your Executive Director, but I will remain a dedicated member of SWCS.”

The Board of Directors is committed to perpetuating the excellent SWCS reputation established by Craig in his tenure in advancing the science and art of natural resource conservation. The Board has met to discuss and implement a framework for transition. The wheels have been set in motion to begin the search for a new Executive Director. We are dedicated to pursue our mission and consider the current and future needs of Society members.

EWG Link: http://www.ewg.org/node/26598