New Leadership Team Established by the International Society of Sustainability Professionals To Accommodate Continued Worldwide Growth

PORTLAND, OR, July 9, 2013 /3BL Media/ – The board of directors of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) recently restructured and has elected a slate of officers that will take a much more active role in leading the organization. The new ISSP Leadership Team consists of:

• President - Dorothy Atwood, Atwood Consulting, Portland OR

• Vice President - Julian Crawford, Eco-Steps, Wentworth Falls, New South Wales, Australia

• Secretary - Laurel Sukup, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison WI

• Treasurer - Rick Woodward, Coastwide Laboratories, Wilsonville OR

• Development Director - Stephan Levitsky, ASR Group Inc., Baltimore MD

The restructuring will allow ISSP to more fully leverage the talents of its board members with an eye toward creating even more value for sustainability professionals worldwide.

Marsha Willard remains Executive Director of ISSP and continues to head up the day-to-day management of the organization. “ISSP is entering a new phase in its development,” Willard explains. “We've grown significantly since our inception more than five years ago. We have more members, more activities and projects and a broader reach around the world. I welcome the opportunity to partner with the members of the Leadership Team, the other board of directors and our staff members to help manage our continued success. I'm very much looking forward to working with this stellar team of sustainability professionals.”

The Leadership Team will add their skills and talents to help accelerate the progress of ISSP’s major initiatives:

Local Chapter Formation. Late in 2012, ISSP began the initial phase of launching local chapters around the world. With the help of a focus group of over 80 interested members, ISSP developed the process to facilitate the creation of regional groups to enable face-to-face contact among members. 2013 saw the introduction of the first official chapter in Jakarta, Indonesia. There are also meetings happening in ISSP’s name in Toronto, Portland, and the Great Lakes Region of the US. Close behind these efforts are groups organizing in Chicago, with interest percolating in Texas, Northern and Southern California, the US Eastern Seaboard, Seattle, Vancouver BC, Hong Kong and Australia. For more information about ISSP's local chapter efforts, click here.

Certification Initiative. ISSP continues to work toward bringing cohesion and definition to the emerging field of sustainability. Its efforts to date have included researching the professional competencies required of people working in the field as well as an exploration of the terminology, or “lexicon,” used by professionals around the globe. The latest iteration of our work is the ISSP Professional Body of Knowledge that, through a months long process involving stakeholder input, has resulted in a first draft document that defines the skills, terms, knowledge and attributes used by professionals practicing in this field. ISSP is soliciting input to the latest draft of the Body of Knowledge document through July 31. To view it and share your comments, click here.

Among the first tasks on the new Leadership Team's agenda is to drive a strategic planning process to further refine ISSP's long and short term strategies. ISSP is seeking member input into that discussion and invites input to the ISSP Member Survey by July 15. Click here to access the member survey.

About ISSP

The International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) is the world's leading professional association for sustainability professionals. ISSP is a member-driven association committed to moving the profession of sustainability forward through building strong networks and communities of practice. Formed in 2007, ISSP boasts more than 700 members from every continent in the world. Members share resources and best practices, and develop themselves professionally. Webinars, webchats, on-line courses, special reports, resource directories, salary surveys, and professional competency studies are just a sampling of the rich content offered to members. For more information about ISSP and its offerings, please visit www.sustainabilityprofessionals.org.