Dear Colleagues,

As I announced during our December Town Hall, Chester Spellman, our Director of AmeriCorps State and National, will depart from the agency on January 2, 2021. I am incredibly grateful for his leadership and commitment to strengthen national service during the last three and a half years.

Since day one, Chester has focused on strengthening and streamlining the AmeriCorps State and National program to help grantees spend more time executing their mission and engaging AmeriCorps members in service. Chester and his team listened to the field and took significant action to reduce administrative burden, make AmeriCorps more accessible to the public, and strengthen ties with our grantees. His problem-solving nature – always striving to “get to yes” – never ceased to impress and inspire me. Under his thoughtful leadership, the AmeriCorps State and National team implemented dozens of policy changes and program improvements to increase community impact, streamline application and reporting processes, enhance member benefits, ensure State Commissions and grantees were aware and engaged throughout changes in our grant management structure, and help grantees pivot to address COVID-19.

Chester has truly strengthened the AmeriCorps State and National program during the last few years. The improvements he helped create will benefit AmeriCorps and the communities we serve for years to come. To continue this work, I have asked Mal Coles, Senior Advisor in the Office of the Chief of Program Operations, to serve as Acting Director of AmeriCorps State and National during the presidential transition process.

Please join me in thanking Chester for his outstanding leadership and wishing him well in his future endeavors.

Warmest regards,