The RSA Board is pleased to announce the successor to their longstanding Chief Executive, Sally Hardy. Sally Hardy steps down at the beginning of April 2024.
Alan Kinder, former Chief Executive Officer of the Geographical Association has been appointed.
He says:
“I am honoured and thrilled to be asked to lead the Regional Studies Association, as its new Chief Executive Officer. The RSA has a long and very distinguished record of enabling high-quality research, of supporting its members in their professional and academic work, and of advocating for better understanding of regions and cities. I believe that, as a learned society and professional community, our collective expertise around the importance of place is critical to the healthy functioning of societies around the world and to the work needed to achieve a sustainable global future. I very much look forward to working with the RSA Board, its committees and staff, as well as with the Association’s international territorial networks, to ensure that the RSA exerts an ever-greater impact on regional and urban policy and practice in the years ahead.”
The Chair of the RSA Board, Professor Neil Lee, Geography Department, London School of Economics, UK says:
“I’m delighted to announce the appointment of Alan Kinder as the new Chief Executive of the RSA. Alan brings a wealth of experience to the RSA, a strong commitment to Regional Studies, and a fresh perspective. He will build on the strong foundations laid by Sally Hardy, and I am confident the RSA will continue to go from strength to strength.”
Alan brings considerable leadership experience to his role as Chief Executive Officer of the Regional Studies Association, having served as the Chief Executive of the Geographical Association (GA), the leading subject association for geography educators, since September 2012. During his time at the GA, Alan oversaw a doubling of membership and a significant increase in the number of schools and teachers engaged in GA professional events, alongside growth in the range and value of partnerships and projects with universities, government agencies and non-governmental organisations.
Alan has played an active role in national and international education policy for many years, providing expert advice to education ministries in the UK and Vietnam, to school inspection agencies, qualification regulators, awarding organisations, publishers and others. Through this advocacy work and through the extensive body of professional advice and support material he has authored, Alan has exerted a considerable influence on the curriculum and professional practice we see in geography education today.
Prior to leading the GA, a wide variety of roles within education – based in the UK, France and Malaysia – provided Alan with the opportunity to work with geography educators, academics and policymakers around the world. Alan currently sits on the Council for British Geography, the UK Geospatial Commission’s Skills Forum and the geography advisory board at the University of Sheffield. He is a British Council consultant, and a virtual editorial board member and contributor to the SecEd educational newspaper.
Queries should be directed to Alex Holmes alex.holmes@regionalstudies.org
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