Safarti Leaving ASAE & The Center
-- Tradeshow Week, 5/19/2008
Susan Safarti, founding president and CEO of The Center for Assn. Leadership and executive vice president of American Society of Assn. Executives, will resign from both posts effective Aug. 31.
“Susan has resigned, and she is at a point in her life where she wants to look at different options available,” said John Graham, president of ASAE & The Center. Safarti's employment contract was not up until September 2009, and Graham declined to discuss details of her decision to leave. “With any personnel action, there aren't many things I can say,” he added.
Safarti founded The Center for Assn. Leadership and was CEO of the Greater Washington Society of Assn. Executives and the GWSAE Foundation for almost 13 years.
In 2004, ASAE, GWSAE, the ASAE Foundation and The Center for Assn. Leadership merged to become ASAE & The Center. Graham was named president and Safarti executive vice president.
With Safarti's departure, Graham said it was now time to take a look at the structure of the association four years after the merger. “The staff structure is in place because of the merger,” he added.
In addition, Graham said, the organization as a whole also is considering the fact it still has two boards in place representing both ASAE and The Center. A task force has been assigned to review the board structure, he added.
