This announcement is from David Hansell, Chair, CLASP Board of Trustees

On behalf of the Board of Trustees at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), I’m pleased to share an update on our leadership transition. Our Board’s Search Committee has engaged LeaderFit—a women-owned, women-led executive recruitment firm—to help identify our next President/Executive Director. The firm is actively recruiting candidates for the role, which is described here. We encourage you to share this opportunity with your networks so we can find CLASP’s next leader who will play a pivotal role in our shared fight to advance economic, social, and racial justice.

You may recall that the plans for our leadership transition also included former Executive Director Olivia Golden’s return to serve as Interim Executive Director. She has done a remarkable job, working closely with the staff and Board to enhance the organization’s capacity to meet the challenges that lie ahead in 2025 and beyond.  Olivia will wrap up her engagement on January 24, and we simply cannot thank her enough for her leadership in this critical time.

I’m pleased to announce that we have recruited Cemeré James to serve as the next Interim Executive Director until our permanent President/Executive Director is in place within the next few months. Cemeré, who will overlap with Olivia before her departure, is a CLASP alum who directed a CLASP-led multi-organization initiative known as Work Support Strategies. In addition, Cemeré led another national organization in an interim role, having served as Interim President and CEO at the National Black Child Development Institute. She also held senior roles at the Children’s Defense Fund and in the Illinois Department of Human Services. We are confident that Cemeré is the right person to assume the interim leadership mantle from Olivia, and we’re delighted she’s rejoining CLASP.

We look forward to your help in identifying our next leader and would appreciate your ongoing support in so many other ways. Thanks to your partnership and our passionate and dedicated staff, CLASP is ready to respond to all this year will bring.