TRCP CEO Steps Down, Board Begins Search for Replacement
George Cooper resigns as president/CEO after seven years with the sportsmen-conservation group; TRCP board appoints director of finance/CFO as interim CEO.
WASHINGTON, DC –-(AmmoLand.com)- The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s George Cooper announced today his decision to step down as president and CEO of the sportsmen-conservation group.
The TRCP board of directors has appointed Director of Finance and CFO Diane Craney interim CEO beginning Jan. 1, 2010. The board is initiating a national search for a permanent replacement this week.
Cooper, who has worked for the TRCP for almost seven years, including three as president and CEO, will continue to work with the group in an advisory capacity to assist with transition. His resignation takes effect Dec. 31. Cooper, who is leaving the TRCP to pursue new professional opportunities, has accepted an invitation to join its board of directors in 2010.
“I am extremely honored to have played a role in building the TRCP from the ground up as one of its first employees,” said Cooper, “and I am very proud of the work we have done with our partners in a remarkably short period of time to ensure the sportsmen-conservation community is more effectively engaged in the policymaking decisions that will affect the future of hunting and fishing in this country.”
TRCP Board of Directors Chairman Jim Martin said today, “We on the board are so appreciative of the energy and expertise George Cooper has brought to the TRCP. We look forward to George joining our board so that we may continue to enjoy a close relationship with him as he explores new and exciting professional opportunities. George will always be part of the TRCP family.
“The board’s decision to appoint Diane Craney as interim CEO until a permanent replacement is hired will guarantee the continued efficient operation of our organization,” continued Martin. “We are tapping Diane’s financial expertise and management skills as she temporarily oversees TRCP operations to guarantee that the TRCP enters 2010 without missing a beat in our conservation mission. She will work closely with our professional staff of fish and wildlife, communications and grassroots professionals to assure the effective continuation of the TRCP’s critical policy work.”
A certified public accountant with more than 15 years of experience directing and enhancing organizational effectiveness, Craney has worked as an auditor, controller, consultant and CFO. Her professional qualifications span a broad spectrum of staff and systems management, financial leadership, technical development and strategic planning.
“The TRCP mission – guaranteeing every American a place to hunt and fish – offers a conservation vision that is more crucial now than ever before,” said Craney. “Together with the TRCP board of directors and partners, we remain committed to upholding the TRCP’s leading role in safeguarding our country’s shared natural resources and unique outdoors heritage.”
Cooper joined the TRCP soon after its establishment in 2002 as the group’s first director of communications, having worked as a producer for CNN for 10 years. In 2006 he was appointed senior vice president, managing the group’s communications and conservation program work. Cooper was named TRCP president and CEO in early 2007. Cooper played an integral role in staking out important new strategic ground at the federal policymaking level for the TRCP’s coalition of hunting, fishing and conservation groups. He was particularly successful in leading efforts to gain more visibility for the sportsmen-conservation community in the media during his time with the TRCP.
“I remain firmly committed to the TRCP’s mission, to its extraordinary staff and volunteer board of directors, and to playing a role in assuring that the progress we’ve made in Washington is continued,” Cooper concluded. “The partnership’s coalition of the nation’s leading hunting, fishing and conservation groups, plus the groundbreaking addition of millions of union sportsmen through the TRCP’s Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, will move us toward a brighter future for the outdoor way of life in this country – the future our namesake Theodore Roosevelt charged us with building and defending.”
Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions
of hunting and fishing.