GSA Announces Melanie Brandt as Next Executive Director and CEO
Boulder, Colo., USA: The Geological Society of America (GSA), a global
scientific society uniting a diverse community of geoscientists, is pleased
to announce Melanie Brandt as its next Executive Director and CEO, starting
31 October 2022.
Brandt brings effective, creative, and transformational leadership skills
and an exceptional record of directing membership organizations in service
of their missions. She has a fundamental and deep-rooted appreciation of
the value of collaborations and partnerships to grow organizations. Brandt
is excited to build on her experience by serving as an advocate for the
geoscience community. She is passionate about science and science-based
solutions and is eager to advance the Society to meet the challenges of our
shared aspirations, as we have done for more than 130 years. She shares
GSA’s dedication to ensuring the organization moves forward with
implementing our
decadal strategic plan.
Brandt joins GSA from the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), where she
was President & CEO for Atlanta and the South Region. During her
nine-year tenure at ACG, Brandt oversaw dramatic attendance and membership
growth through the organization’s advances in media, publications, data
management, and the execution of the organization’s strategic plan. She
created highly successful event offerings and implemented significant and
impactful growth strategies, for which she received the 2018 ACG
President’s Award for Leadership and Excellence. At ACG, she also led
diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts that expanded the
representation of women and people of color on the Atlanta Board of
Directors and markedly increased the diversity of committee members and
conference participants. Brandt is inspired to continue this work to
advance GSA’s ongoing commitment to DEI.
“This announcement represents another milestone in GSA’s esteemed history,”
said GSA Past-President Barbara Dutrow who coordinated the nearly yearlong,
international search. “Melanie comes to GSA with many years of leadership
experience, a demonstrated ability to grow membership, create dynamic
events, and generate new lines of revenue. She brings a genuine passion for
her team members and for leading membership organizations. We are thrilled
to have her join GSA at this time and look forward to her transformational
leadership to expand GSA into a larger ecosystem embracing the many aspects
of the earth sciences.”
“Melanie has an impressive track record of building new relationships
across disciplines and geographies,” said GSA President Mark Little, “and
so I am very excited to see how she will help GSA achieve its goals of
increasing international collaborations and expanding the diversity of
people, organizations, and perspectives represented in the geosciences
community.”
“I am excited to make GSA my professional home. I have a profound
appreciation for geoscience as a principal driver for addressing energy
issues, climate change, and the everpresent regional competition for water
resources, and GSA’s mission and vision resonate with me. I am certain I
will be a valuable asset to the organization, the noble scientific
profession it serves, and the important solutions GSA members are
pursuing,” said Melanie Brandt.
Prior to her role at ACG, Brandt served as COO for the Technology
Association of Georgia (TAG), the largest industry association in the state
and one of the most successful technology organizations in the U.S. She
provided innovative and strategic leadership, as well as management of
TAG's operations, including fundraising and staff management
responsibilities. Brandt initiated several noteworthy projects, including
the annual TAG S.T.E.M. Education Awards, the TAG Education Foundation, and
the TAG Public Policy Initiative. Prior to that, she worked with the
Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce as their Business Development Manager
for Technology and Advanced Communications.
Brandt has been honored by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as a
Bizwoman Mentor, a Women Who Mean Business honoree, and a 40 under 40
winner. Hailing originally from Evanston, Illinois, she holds an MBA from
Georgia State University and a bachelor’s degree in molecular, cellular,
and developmental biology from the University of Colorado Boulder.
The Geological Society of America (https://www.geosociety.org)
unites a diverse community of geoscientists in a common purpose to study
the mysteries of our planet (and beyond) and share scientific findings.
Members and friends around the world, from academia, government, and
industry, participate in GSA meetings, publications, and programs at all
career levels, to foster professional excellence. GSA values and supports
inclusion through cooperative research, public dialogue on earth issues,
science education, and the application of geoscience in the service of
humankind.
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