T4America Blog

Smart Growth America President & CEO to step down after ten fruitful years

We announce with both sadness and gratitude that after 10 years serving as the head of Smart Growth America (SGA), President and CEO Geoff Anderson will be stepping down from his post in January 2018 to pursue other endeavors, leaving the organization well-positioned to continue its successful work as the only national organization dedicated to bringing better development strategies to communities nationwide.

Transportation for America is a program of Smart Growth America.

“It is with mixed emotions that I announce that in January I will be stepping down from the position of President and CEO,” said Geoff Anderson. “After 10 years of directing and managing Smart Growth America to achieve a wide range of important projects, ultimately, I decided that I would like to have the opportunity to be more deeply and personally engaged in a few specific areas of work and to have greater flexibility to explore new approaches to achieving smart growth.

“I continue to be deeply committed to SGA and its goals, and I’m eager to find new ways to support the organization in the years to come. SGA’s Board of Directors has already begun a national search for a new President and CEO and I look forward to working with the Board to affect a smooth transition.

“I am very proud of all that the organization has accomplished during the past decade, but I’m more proud to have been associated with my many colleagues over the years here at SGA. They are amazing, inspiring, and deeply committed to bettering people’s lives and the communities they live in; I thank them for the opportunity I’ve had to work with them.

“Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t express my gratitude to all those working to better their own communities. One of the privileges of my position has been the opportunity to travel the country, to large cities, suburban communities, and small towns to see, discuss, and assist in your efforts to create better neighborhoods and better futures. This work is genuine, grounded in day-to-day reality, cooperative, and focused on results. What I’ve seen over the years in your communities makes me optimistic for the future.”

Geoff’s leadership was the driving force behind SGA’s transformation into a much larger enterprise than when he took the reins in January 2008. When new challenges or opportunities arose, Geoff successfully changed course, raised new funding and brought on new staff to tackle them head on. During Geoff’s tenure, SGA helped start the Transportation for America campaign from scratch in 2008 to work on the reauthorization of the federal transportation bill, built the LOCUS coalition of real estate developers and brought them into the SGA fold, and became a go-to resource for on-the-ground technical assistance on transportation, planning, growth and development in state houses, state departments of transportation, and local communities around the country.

“Perhaps more importantly than all the organizational achievements over the years, Geoff has nurtured an entirely new generation of smart growth leadership, many of whom are now scattered across the country hard at work on improving lives by improving the communities they call home,” said Scot Spencer, Board Chair for SGA’s Board of Directors. “Dozens of staff have walked through these doors over the last decade, and Geoff has made sure they left better equipped to do the hard work required to make beautiful, walkable, livable places the norm, not the exception.

“All of us at Smart Growth America — the Board, the current staff, the scores of former SGA staffers — wish Geoff the best of luck in the years to come. We’re proud to have worked for and with such an inspiring leader for all of these years.”

The SGA Board is conducting a nationwide search for a new President & CEO. A full position description will be available at this link: https://smartgrowthamerica.org/sga-president-ceo/. For further inquiries about the job, please contact the Board & search committee at: president@smartgrowthamerica.org.

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Smart Growth America is the only national organization dedicated to researching, advocating for and leading coalitions to bring better development strategies to more communities nationwide. From providing more sidewalks to ensuring more homes are built near public transportation or that productive farms remain a part of our communities, smart growth helps make sure people across the nation can live in great neighborhoods. For more information visit www.smartgrowthamerica.org.