ASA NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
American Sociological Association Names Nancy Weinberg Kidd New Executive OfficerShe Succeeds Sally T. Hillsman, Who Is Retiring After Leading ASA for 14 Years Newswise — WASHINGTON, DC, March 30, 2016 — The American Sociological Association (ASA) announced today that Nancy Weinberg Kidd will succeed the retiring Sally T. Hillsman as the Association’s executive officer in September.
Kidd, who earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Stanford University and a B.A. in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania, is currently the executive director of the National Communication Association (NCA) in Washington, D.C.
“As a sociologist and an experienced executive director of a scholarly association, Nancy Weinberg Kidd is ready to lead and to work with our excellent staff,” said ASA Secretary Mary Romero, who chairs the Association’s Committee on the Executive Office and Budget, which served as the search committee for Hillsman’s successor. “She is well known in the community of learned societies and is considered a leader among her peers. Nancy’s background puts her in a strong position to expand ASA’s external presence via social media and advocacy, as well as to pursue strategic partnerships with our sister organizations.”
Kidd began her career as a program officer for the Russell Sage Foundation in New York City, where she worked with sociologists engaged in innovative scholarship around the world. She then moved to Miami to serve as the assistant director for policy at the South Florida Workforce Board, the regional organization charged with disseminating federal funds related to employment, including welfare and job training dollars. Subsequently, Kidd established and led a strategic management division of a Washington, D.C.-based contractor that provides consulting to federal government agencies and then ran a division of the Corporate Executive Board, where she provided strategic research to a membership of senior executives at the world’s leading corporations. Since becoming NCA executive director in 2009, Nancy has helped the discipline of communication achieve greater national prominence, both within the academy and in the broader public realm. She also has established new programs to support NCA members’ teaching and research efforts, as well as their career development.
“I am excited about joining ASA in this role,” Kidd said. “Having been a member of the Association for more than 20 years, it will be an honor and privilege to serve as the executive officer of sociology’s professional home. I look forward to working with ASA’s more than 12,000 members to support their professional needs and to ensure that the discipline continues to play a vibrant role in the academy and in the broader public realm.”
Kidd and Hillsman will remain in their current positions until September.
“I have had a rewarding 14 years as the executive officer of the American Sociological Association,” said Hillsman, who announced in 2015 that she would retire this year. “It has been a pleasure working with members, ASA leadership, colleagues in the ASA Executive Office, and the larger social science community to raise awareness about the importance of sociology as a discipline and sociology’s contributions to society as a whole. I am confident that Nancy Weinberg Kidd brings the right experience to the leadership of the Executive Office and will take the Association in new and exciting directions going forward.”
Hillsman became ASA’s executive officer in 2002, following eight years as the deputy director at the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice. Previously, she served as vice president for research at the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, Virginia, and associate director of the Vera Institute of Justice in New York City.
“Sally leaves ASA with an extremely talented and committed staff and well-developed programs serving our members,” said Romero, whose ASA search committee worked in conjunction with Isaacson, Miller, a national recruiting firm that specializes in executive searches for non-profits, to find Hillsman’s replacement. “We had a very strong pool of candidates, who spoke very highly of ASA and recognized ASA’s leadership and presence among social science disciplines. I am extremely grateful to the members of the search committee, who so generously contributed their time, effort, and commitment to hiring a new executive officer.”
About the American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (www.asanet.org), founded in 1905, is a non-profit membership association dedicated to serving sociologists in their work, advancing sociology as a science and profession, and promoting the contributions to and use of sociology by society.
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