A Chat with the CEO Candidates

 What do the vice-president of a large national non-profit communications service provider, a attorney specializing in fighting for accessibility, and the chief operating officer of a large non-profit advocacy organization share in common?    Besides a common desire to expand communication access for the nation's 36 million deaf and hard of hearing citizens, they're also working to become the National Association of the Deaf's next Chief Executive Officer.  

The candidates are: 

• Shane Feldman
• Howard Rosenblum
• Darlene Goncz Zangara

You can find more information the candidates at www.nad.org/about-us/ceo-search-process/ceo-search-finalist-profiles [3].

Nancy Bloch is stepping down after 18 years in that role, a position she assumed in 1992 as Executive Director.   The position of Executive Director is still a fairly new one, having started in 1966 with the selection of Frederick Schrieber.   Nancy ends her term as the sixth executive director and the first woman to hold the position.     Earlier this afternoon, we heard from the three candidates as they gave full-fledged presentations on their objectives, goals and plans to lead NAD into the years to come.  

 I sat with the three candidates before the presentations to get a better sense of what they bring to the table and how they will steer the ship as it makes its way though the tricky waters of today's economic climate and the assorted advocacy and legislative priorities that NAD is involved with. 

 Shane Feldman, NAD's current Chief Operating Officer, said he believes NAD's next CEO must bring focus and direction to the position by establishing clear lines of communication with the NAD staff, Board and membership.   Howard Rosenblum added that the next CEO must be focused on the big picture and projects that pay long-term dividends instead of responding to the little fires that pop up every day.  Darlene Goncz Zangara said that the CEO also must focus on being a leader and an agent of change instead of having to react to changes that occur. 

 Howard Rosenblum, Senior Attorney at Equip for Equality, added that the next CEO must, above all else, be a creative person who can connect easily with all the various stakeholders that make the work of NAD successful.  This creativity is especially important in these difficult economic times.  Feldman echoed statements from all three candidates in regards to the importance of the CEO having a full understanding the financial operations of the organization and being able to develop new sources of funding.  Zangara stressed the importance of diversifying the different ways that NAD raises money by developing donors and seeking out new grants that can enhance NAD's service to the community.

 But everyone wants to know what makes the CEO tick.  In other words, what public policy issues do they feel most passionate about.  Howard Rosenblum said that after 18 years, he's figured out how to make significant changes in the field without filing lawsuits.  For example, hospitals have been sued repeatedly without seeing any widespread effect in their policies and procedures.  Rosenblum believes accessibility needs to be integrated into the certification process for the hospitals since they cannot do business without certification.  Likewise, with doctors and lawyers, Rosenblum notes that greater access can be achieved by creating an access fund from a slight increase in the licensing fees that they have to pay to practice in their communities. 

 Shane Feldman wants to press for Early Intervention programs that stress the importance of American Sign Language along with greater acceptance of ASL in the Education community.   He also wants to see greater strides in equal access especially in the area of telecommunications and technology.  Finally, he wants to use the NAD's influence to create greater employment opportunities by leveling the playing field.  He said "while technology has leveled the playing field, we still have a long way to go in changing the attitudes of people."

 Darlene Goncz Zangara, currently CSD's Senior Vice President for National Centers for Excellence, observed that every public policy issue is not an island and there are many areas where seemingly different topics have significant overlap with other areas. For her part, Zangara said that she strongly believes in expanding accessibility to social services such as mental health.  She also wants to see greater efforts toward Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs as well as greater push for H.R. 3101 to succeed because it speaks to the younger deaf generation.