Pres. Obama Nominates Maria Eitel to be next CEO of Corporation for National & Community Service

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The White House


President Obama Announces Intention to Nominate Maria Eitel to be Chief Executive Officer for the Corporation for National and Community Service

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intention to nominate Maria Eitel to be Chief Executive Officer for the Corporation for National and Community Service.

President Obama said, “I am pleased to announce my intent to nominate Maria Eitel to be CEO for the Corporation for National and Community Service. Maria brings a unique blend of skills and management experience that will help her successfully lead the Corporation during our Administration’s bold expansion of national service programs. Maria is genuinely passionate about the role of national and community service as a vehicle for engaging and mobilizing citizens in social change, and will bring new, creative thinking to the growth and mission of the Corporation.”

“I am deeply honored to be nominated to become CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. President Obama and all those who champion service have led us to this historic moment to redefine citizenship in this country. Should I be confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to helping make President Obama's vision a reality for everyone,” said Maria Eitel.
Maria Eitel , Nominee for Chief Executive Officer for the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Maria Eitel is the President of the Nike Foundation and a Vice President of NIKE, Inc. As president of the Nike Foundation, she has lead the Foundation’s work to increase opportunities for the world’s most disadvantaged girls.

Prior to becoming the Foundation’s first president, Ms. Eitel served as Nike Inc.’s first vice president for corporate responsibility, leading the development and implementation of the company’s first corporate responsibility agenda.

Before Nike, Ms. Eitel served as European corporate affairs group manager for Microsoft Corporation where she managed corporate, public and community affairs for the company’s European headquarters. Prior to Microsoft, she worked with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and MCI Communications Corp.

From 1989 to 1992, Ms. Eitel served in the White House as deputy director of media relations and later as special assistant to the President for media affairs. Ms. Eitel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University, a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and is an alumnus of the Stanford University Business School Executive Program.
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Serve America Signing Liveblog

CNCS Update on Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act

Friday, April 17, 2009
Office of the Acting CEO


Update on Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act

Dear Colleagues,

President Obama is expected to sign the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law in the coming days. This is a very exciting time for the Corporation and the entire national service and voluntary sector, representing both the culmination of years of hard work and the start of a new era of national service in America.

The Presidential bill-signing will be a landmark moment in the history of national service. We will be communicating with you again when we have details to share about the timing of the event and how you can watch and participate from afar in this historic moment. We also encourage you to use this opportunity to get the word out about the important work you are doing and discuss this milestone with your partners and volunteers.

This legislation is bold and far-reaching, authorizing a series of new initiatives, creating new programs for social innovation and volunteer generation, and making important and helpful changes to our existing operations. We hope you have had a chance to read the detailed summary and other explanatory materials about the bill on our legislation page.

We know you have lots of questions about the Act and how it will be implemented. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be working to answer those questions in the implementation process. We also will be developing a way to seek your input as we plan for carrying out the Act.

There are two broad points about implementation that we would like to emphasize. First, the law goes into effect on October 1, 2009, not on the day the President signs it. Congress chose this date to provide time for the Corporation and the national service field to plan and prepare for the extensive changes established in the law, and to coincide with the beginning of the next fiscal year.

Second, the Serve America Act is an authorization bill, not an appropriations bill. It makes changes in the underlying statutes that shape our programs and sets funding thresholds, but it does not itself fund them. The actual funding is set through the annual appropriations process.

The President’s detailed budget request for FY 2010, expected later this spring, will be the starting point for that process, which will culminate in the fall. We will be working closely with Congress and the White House throughout this process to support the budget proposed by the President.

We wouldn’t have reached this historic landmark without the decades of hard work and resulting impact of national service participants and staff. The strong bipartisan votes in the House and Senate are a testament to the value of what our Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, VISTA, NCCC, Learn and Serve America, and other national service programs accomplish every day on the frontlines of communities across America. Many thanks for all that you do, and for your work in the days ahead.

In Service,
Nicola Goren
Acting CEO
Corporation for National and Community Service

Michelle Obama Op/Ed in USA Today on Serve America Act

Nation needs youthful idealism more than ever
By Michelle Obama for USA TODAY

Embedded in our nation's core values is a spirit of community, generosity and entrepreneurship — a can-do attitude that says no challenge is insurmountable.

When so many people are struggling to make ends meet, we need everyone pulling together to solve our nation's problems and to lift up our fellow Americans. And this includes our young people. Today, more than ever, we need their energy, enthusiasm and idealism.

Service groups, non-profits, faith-based organizations, philanthropists, corporations, government and individuals all have a role to play in moving this country forward, and more and more students are filling these ranks.

Every day we hear stories of people rising to the occasion and making a real difference: the retiree who volunteers at the local elementary school to help children learn to read; the woman down the block who watches out for her neighbor's kids after school — providing a snack, some wisdom and a home with a light on until parents return from a long day of work; the mothers and fathers in a neighborhood who coach Little League and soccer and teach kids about good sportsmanship and perseverance and teamwork.

These adults know the value of service and make it an integral part of their lives. And even more importantly, by being good neighbors, concerned citizens and solid role models, they are helping to train the next generation of community leaders.

When I made the decision to leave my job to found Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program in Chicago that prepares youth for public service, I realized right away that I had made the right decision. There are few things more rewarding than watching young people recognize they have the power to enrich not only their own lives, but the lives of those around them as well.

Research shows that the current generation of young people is one of the most socially conscious and active, with 61% of 13- to 25-year-olds saying they feel personally responsible for making a difference in the world. And with the recent passage of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, we can tap into this enthusiasm and usher in a new era of service in this nation.

This bipartisan legislation promotes the cause of service among young people by investing in service-learning. It is never too early to encourage kids to better their community or begin investing in their own future. And some are truly making a difference.

Students such as those at the Collegiate School in Manhattan, led by Avery Hairston, who launched a program called RelightNY. They are working with companies and foundations to acquire energy-saving light bulbs and install them in low-income housing communities, saving on both electric costs and carbon emissions. These young men represent the next generation of social innovators!

The Serve America Act will also dramatically increase the number of full- and part-time service opportunities for college-age students by expanding AmeriCorps from 75,000 positions a year to 250,000 by 2017, and providing more than $5,000 a year to help those students pay for college.

This will help folks such as Kierstin Quinsland of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and Nicole Fauble of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, who work at Miriam's Kitchen, a homeless service agency near the White House. Every day, Kierstin and Nicole provide case management services to homeless men and women who come for a nutritious meal served in an atmosphere of dignity and respect.

Each has recently signed up to volunteer for an additional year at Miriam's.

Through a new service corps founded in the Serve America Act, students will work on national priorities such as education, health care, clean energy and supporting veterans' organizations.

They will work with organizations such as YouthBuild, an AmeriCorps program providing opportunities for low-income youth to rebuild their communities, learn job skills, complete their high school education and graduate.

YouthBuild began more than 30 years ago as a program to rebuild housing units in low-income communities. It has withstood the test of time because it has evolved to include green building, energy-saving practices and environmental awareness programs.

The message of YouthBuild is so important: Participating in national and community service is not just an escape for the wealthy or for those students who can afford it; it is an integral part of empowering all our young people and making our communities stronger.

And this is what I find so inspiring. RelightNY, the JVC and the LVC and YouthBuild all demonstrate that, given the chance, young people will take responsibility for making their communities stronger. They know that each of us has something to contribute. And they are ready to lead the way.