On behalf of the Board of Trustees of TAG, I am delighted to announce that the new Executive Director of TAG will be Chantal Forster.
Chantal is a veteran leader in digital transformation, working as a strategy consultant to major philanthropies, family foundations and community-based grantees. As Chief Strategy Consultant for her firm, Gibson Carlisle, she has led customer-focused technology programs and initiatives for public sector clients and built collaboration initiatives for data and platform sharing since 2008. A sought-after presenter, Forster regularly speaks on topics including inclusive IT, people-driven technology, and social entrepreneurship.
Prior to launching her consultancy, Forster was Digital Director for the Bioneers, Digital Manager for the City of Albuquerque, and Senior Information Architect for SPSS (an IBM Company). Chantal is known for spearheading the adoption of user-driven design methods as well as agile development approaches. She holds an MA from DePaul University in Chicago, as well as her BA from Purdue University. She is a Project Management Professional (PMP), a Certified ScrumMaster, as well as a Certified Usability Professional.
The Executive Director Search Committee, chaired by me, has unanimously recommended Chantal to the Board to be our next Executive Director, and the Board has unanimously approved the recommendation. We believe she will be an excellent leader for TAG. She strikes us all as smart, brave and unpretentious, and we believe she has the skills TAG needs.
Chantal is going to spend the next few weeks in learning-and-listening mode, and will take over the Executive Director position formally on January 1, 2018.
I want to close this post with a heartfelt and deeply appreciative thanks to Lisa Pool, who has been the Executive Director of TAG since its founding over a decade ago. Lisa’s leadership has built the organization into an effective, well-funded and well-managed organization with integrity and a clear sense of purpose, and her steady and committed presence throughout the search process was integral in helping us come to this excellent result. We will be forever grateful for her leadership and vision, and we look forward to working with Lisa in her new role as Program Director.
TAG is delighted to have reached such a successful outcome to the search. I ask you to please join me in extending a warm welcome to Chantal Forster, our new Executive Director.
Jim Rutt
President, Technology Affinity Group