American Sail Training Association seeking Executive Director

American Sail Training Association
240 Thames St. - PO Box 1459
Newport, Rhode Island 02840 USA
p: 401.846.1775 ● f: 401.849.5400
www.sailtraining.org


PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ASTA seeking an Executive Director.
Contact:
Lori Aguiar
Tel: 401-846-1775
lori@sailtraining.org

Some jobs, you don't look for.

They come calling.

That's the case with one of the most unique and fulfilling jobs on the planet: Executive Director of the American Sail Training Association.

The position is everything the name implies – challenging young men and women to build character along with leadership and teamwork skills aboard tall ships – but it's more. It's uniting a worldwide community of lovers of sail and tall ships; it's developing leaders; it's bringing the romance of tall ships to appreciative ports around the world.

And here's the best part: The job is open.

The American Sail Training Association – ASTA – is seeking an executive director to head the nonprofit organization during the most exciting period of growth in its 33-year history. If your town has a sailing heritage, it may have the kind of leader who could take the ASTA helm.

The 501(c)(3) group, based in Newport, R.I., boasts a worldwide membership of some 250 sail training vessels and a nationwide base of supporting individuals and businesses.

Its next executive director will oversee a staff of five that provides programs to encourage character building through sail training, promote sail training to the American public, and support education under sail.

Coast Guard Captain David Wood (Ret.), former skipper of the Coast Guard Barque EAGLE, ASTA Executive Director from 1999-2001 and head of the search committee, said, “This position offers a unique opportunity for professional growth while ... deriving great personal satisfaction from serving the youth of this great nation”.

Applicants, Wood said, should have six years of experience in organizational management, strong entrepreneurial and fundraising skills, and a passionate belief in and respect for what the sea and sailing have to teach others.

ASTA has organized the TALL SHIP CHALLENGE® series of tall ships races and events in port cities around the U.S. and Canada, aimed at promoting wider public awareness of the organization's mission.

In 2006, ASTA received a federal grant to develop after-school sail training programs for under-served youth in conjunction with member organizations in four U.S. cities, a major step toward furthering its core mission.

A founding member of Sail Training International, a U.K.-based organization that promotes sail training worldwide, ASTA provides leadership for its member organizations and programs.

That includes scholarships for participation aboard member vessels, which in turn offer life-changing opportunities to thousands of youth across the continent each year.

Participation as a trainee aboard a tall ship provides a unique and challenging opportunity to develop self-confidence and life skills in a unique environment that only sailing on board a tall ship at sea can provide.

That's the calling. If it resonates with you, send a letter of interest and resumé to Search Committee, ASTA, P.O. Box 1459, Newport, RI 02840.

The application deadline is Jan. 26, 2006.

An Equal Opportunity Employer