ISEA's Executive Director Announces Planned Retirement

April 24, 2013


Change of Watch at ISEA

It has been almost 25 years since the first Schoolship students stepped aboard Malabar on a May morning in 1989. Since that time there has been a lot of water under the keels of our various Schoolships vessels (Malabar, Cygnet, Falcon, Manitou, Westward, Mishe Mokwa, Liberty, and Inland Seas), many dedicated staff members, a thousand + volunteers, and many loyal financial supporters. This has been a wonderful period of my life, to see a dream come true and to have new dreams unfold as all of us worked together to bring the Schoolship experience to over 94,000 students, young and old.

Aboard Malabar, 1989

As I approach my 65th birthday, it is time to turn over the helm of Inland Seas Education Association to a new leader. Since 2008, I have been working toward this with the ISEA Board of Directors, and assistance from NorthSky Nonprofit Network. ISEA has developed an Executive Transition Plan, a pathway for the orderly change of leadership. In the coming months we will be searching for the next Executive Director and hopefully this person will be ready to join us by November, 2013. After a couple of months overlap, I will step aside and the new leader will take the helm beginning January 2014.

ISEA will go on much as before. The board is committed to our mission and the way of doing our work. The new Executive Director will be carefully chosen by the board to carry on the best traditions of ISEA and to bring new ideas and new energy to the organization. I will help in any way I can to insure a sustainable future for ISEA. I plan continued involvement with ship operations in the future, working with Captain Ben Hale, to provide a safe and rewarding shipboard experience for our young learners.

I want to thank you for your loyal support over the years, and I ask for your support through this transition period and into the future. This will be a change for everyone involved with Inland Seas, including me and you. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to talk about the transition or anything else about ISEA. I trust you will continue to support ISEA’s mission into the future, so thousands more students can experience the Great Lakes and become faithful stewards of this great resource.

Best regards,

Tom Kelly
Executive Director

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