Please take a moment to read about some major changes to the HPA’s leadership from our co-founder and former Executive Director, Paul DeGeorge. We have been honored to work with Paul on a day-to-day basis for the past two years and look forward to seeing the weird and amazing things he creates next. Good luck on your immortal adventures with Stephen Colbert and Santa Claus, Paul. We’ll meet again some sunny day. ===== Today I’m stepping down as Executive Director of the Harry Potter Alliance. As I’ve been preparing for this, a lot of friends and family have expressed either curiosity or dismay at my decision. Why would I leave this amazing job? It’s a great question to ask and one I’ve wrestled with for quite some time. The truth is, I don’t have a spectacularly great answer for it, at least not in the conventional sense. I’m not leaving this job for another. Instead, I’m leaving because I’m curious to see what happens. It’s a challenge to myself to keep pushing forward, to keep learning, to keep experimenting and to keep creating. It’s a personal decision to embrace that next adventure. I will, however, continue to stay involved with the HPA as a member of the Board of Directors. As a co-founder of the Harry Potter Alliance, it’s difficult to express the pride I feel for this organization. Over the past 10 years, I’ve played an intimate role in shaping this organization and that feels like such a privilege. Like any non-profit, the HPA started with an idea. But it’s been my experience that ideas only become reality when they’re nurtured and championed by talented, ambitious and dedicated people. In that respect, I am so grateful to everyone who has helped this organization over the years: our board members, our staff members, our volunteers, our chapter organizers, our members, our partners and everyone else who at one time or another has counted themselves as an ally to the HPA. Thank you all. I know this is all starting to sound a bit bittersweet, but let me assure you it’s not. It’s just plain sweet. The Harry Potter Alliance is currently operating at the top of its game and I’ve never been more confident in its continued success. Earlier this year we completed a year-long strategic planning process and we’ve assembled an amazing team that is incredibly committed to our mission and ready to bring this plan forward. It’s a plan that will allow the HPA to continue redefining fandom and will turn “fan activism” into a household phrase. I’m excited to announce that a key member of this team is our new Executive Director, Matthew Maggiacomo. You may know Matt as the human host body for the wizard rock band the Whomping Willows, but he’s also served as a longtime board member for the HPA. A year and a half ago, he left our board and joined our staff as our Chapters Director. In that time, we’ve seen unprecedented growth in our chapters program, particularly at a global level. We now have nearly 300 active HPA chapters (up from 120) in 43 states and 25 countries: each doing amazing work in their local communities. We’ve also created the Granger Leadership Academy, a weekend long training conference for chapter organizers and fan activists. All of this has happened under Matt’s leadership and I can’t wait to see what he does at the helm of the entire organization. It has been such an honor to serve as the Executive Director of the Harry Potter Alliance. We’re on the cusp of major victories in Net Neutrality and in our Not In Harry’s Name campaign, and our recent work around the Hunger Games has transformed the cultural dialogue around economic inequality. I’m so proud of the work that our community has done in the name of equality and social justice. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of that work over the past nine and a half years. Hedwig Lives, Paul DeGeorge
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 21:43:35 +0000
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