(SEATTLE, WA) January 26, 2015 – The Student Conservation Association (SCA), the national leader in youth service and stewardship, reports two long-time members of its Seattle leadership team have been assigned to new and expanded national roles.
Steve Smith has been appointed Vice President for Program Quality. Previously SCA’s director of risk management, Mr. Smith brings over 20 years of outdoor program experience to this new position, in which he oversees training and professional development for SCA members, leaders, and staff; outcomes-based curriculum; program evaluation; reporting; and mission delivery, in addition to continuing his risk management duties. He is also chair of the Wilderness Risk Management Conference, an international event co-sponsored by SCA, the National Outdoor Leadership School and Outward Bound.
After leading SCA’s Northwest region for the past eight years, Jay Satz has been appointed to the new position of Senior Director for Agency Initiatives. In this national position, Mr. Satz is responsible for advancing SCA initiatives with resource management agencies and other partners at all levels. He led the 2011 launch and subsequent growth of SCA’s National Park Service Academy, a workforce diversity/development initiative, as well as SCA’s Mount Rainier Recovery initiative in response to massive flood damage in 2006, which earned the Secretary of Interior’s Cooperative Conservation Award. Mr. Satz has been a standing member of the Wilderness Risk Managers Committee since 1995, and first joined SCA in 1986 as a crew leader.
Additionally, SCA Regional Vice President Jay Watson’s territory has been increased to include the Pacific Northwest and Alaska; previously, he managed SCA’s Southwest region. Mr. Watson is responsible for establishing, maintaining and supporting SCA’s partner strategies including building and retaining program levels, and cultivating and increasing philanthropic support, among other duties. Prior to joining SCA in 2004, he spent 19 years with The Wilderness Society, including 14 years as California regional director.