Travelers Aid International President Dave Asselin is resigning his post effective Sept. 28. After informing the Board of his decision to relocate to Florida, the Board began mapping out a transition for the organization. Valerie Graff has been hired as the acting president until January. She began her position on Sept. 17.
A Board Search Committee, composed of Executive Committee members, Floyd Davis, Randy Brater, Ellen Horton, Kathleen Baldwin and Susan Perry, plus David Sinski, Joan Lowden and Tara Hamilton, will soon meet to begin a search for the next president. It is the Board’s hope the new president will be in place on Jan. 1. The Search Committee will be meeting before the Oct. 19 Board meeting to establish a new job description and the scope of the search.
Asselin joined Travelers Aid in October 2013 after serving a stint as the executive director of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, also based in Washington. During his tenure at Travelers Aid, Asselin secured a contract to begin information services at Bradley International Airport and renegotiated contracts with the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority expanding our scope of operations.
Graff, a professional interim chief executive officer and principal of Washington-based Valerie Graff Associates, is a 30-year public sector leader, manager and consultant. Most recently, she was the temporary leader for the CREATE Arts Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, and My Sister’s Place in Washington. Travelers Aid is her 11th assignment.