The Steady Stater Vol. 14, Issue 2
Dear Steady Stater,
Have you ever thought about running a non-profit organization? Take my advice: Don’t do it, unless you are very devoted to the mission. It’s a non-stop struggle, as documented all over the internet. Here’s a short list of the challenges:
- Engaging and retaining donors
- Getting noticed
- Attracting qualified staff
- Mission creep
- Technology shortfalls
- Lack of business savvy
- Burnout
As it all relates to CASSE, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. Let’s start with the bad. The third challenge noted above—attracting qualified staff—turns out to be a prevalent lament, nearly ubiquitous for progressive non-profits like CASSE. The prevalence of this challenge is due to rapidly changing cultural norms, age barriers between leadership and early-career staff, and competition for employees in an economy at fairly full employment.
CASSE has not been immune to the synergistic effects of these phenomena. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the bad news is mostly old news. CASSE has survived and even prospered through all the challenges noted above. We’ve suffered zero mission creep, thanks to our well-entrenched position on economic growth and a smart, mature, unified board of directors. We’ve gotten our share of attention (although we need far more to accomplish our mission). We manage to keep abreast of the requisite technology, get our taxes done on time, and keep the burnout at bay with a small but devoted staff of steady staters.
Furthermore, that staff will be burgeoned in less than a week with one more hire: Daniel Wortel-London, our new Policy Specialist. You’ll see more about Daniel below, but I’ll set the tone by noting his outstanding abilities as a scholar, writer, and speaker. He brings a toolkit well-suited for helping us develop the policy instruments for a steady state economy, and we’re excited to have him on board!
We eagerly await the hiring of our next Communications Specialist, too. If you know how to produce a podcast, shoot and edit videos, maintain social media accounts, and issue press releases, by all means send me your resume! Or, pass this along to the best and brightest prospects you know.
Meanwhile, may the April showers bring you May flowers.
Sincerely,
Brian Czech, Executive Director
Meet Our New Staff
Daniel Wortel-London is CASSE’s new Policy Specialist. He has served as Knowledge Co-Lead for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and Research Coordinator for the Civworld project at Demos. He earned his Ph.D. in History from New York University, where he wrote numerous articles along with his dissertation, retitled The Menace of Prosperity for publication by the University of Chicago Press. Dan will work out of West Orange, NJ, with periodic policy work in Washington, DC. Twitter handle: @dlondonwortel.
Top Articles this Quarter
- Bulldozing the Planet by Greg Mikkelson
- What About the Other Debt Ceiling? by Gary Gardner
- Lesson from a Failed Bank: Only One Real Start-Up by Brian Czech
- Degrowth in a Green-Growth World by Rosalie Bull
- Economic Growth is Bad for Your Breath(s) by Greg Mikkelson
Chapter News
Mark Cramer is the new director of CASSE’s Paris chapter. An activist and author, Mark’s If Thoreau Had a Bicycle will be published soon by Steady State Press. Mark is an excellent evangelist for living simply—and smartly—on a finite planet
David Rutherford is the new CASSE chapter director at the University of Mississippi, where he teaches in the Department of Public Policy Leadership. He also serves as Executive Director of the Mississippi Geographic Alliance.
Signatory Spotlight
John Dryzek, globally renowned specialist in deliberative democracy.
Claire Simeone, marine mammal veterinarian, Conservationist, and TED Fellow.
Quotable
I appreciate your mission and your global outreach. It is good to know how broad and deep is the commitment of people to saving our earth home. You renew courage and hope for our widespread efforts.
–Lucy Hitchcock
The only thing that should be growing is the number of signatures.
–Jan Mulder
In Memoriam
Jerry Mander, a long-time anti-globalization crusader, passed away last week. He was an outspoken and effective environmentalist, opposing dam building in the Grand Canyon and the U.S. supersonic transport (SST) program, among many other causes. Mander’s best-selling books included Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television and In the Absence of the Sacred. Mander was 86.
CASSE is Hiring!
We’re looking for a Communications Specialist with skills in podcast production, shooting and editing videos, maintaining social media accounts, and issuing press releases. Interested? Please send resumes to info@steadystate.org with “Communications Specialist application” in the subject line.
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Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy
Arlington, VA 22203-1559
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