The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation (HBOIF) board of directors recently named Katha Kissman as its President & CEO, effective July 1, 2014. Kissman has served as HBOIF’s Interim Executive Director for the past seven months.

“This decision was made with the enthusiastic and unanimous approval of the HBOIF Board of Directors,” said HBOIF Board Chair Joseph Z. Duke. “We could not be more pleased with our good fortune.”

Over the last ten years, Kissman has provided interim leadership and nonprofit organizational development consulting for a wide variety of organizations, in addition to serving as a Senior Governance Consultant with BoardSource (formerly the National Center for Nonprofit Boards) and the author of its 2006 publication Taming the Troublesome Board Member and its 2009 publication Trouble at the Top: the Nonprofit Board’s Guide to Managing an Imperfect CEO. A forthcoming book, tentatively entitled High Performing Boards is slated for publication in 2015 by the ASAE Foundation and Jossey-Bass/a Wiley imprint.

“It is such a privilege to be asked to serve this team,” said Kissman. “I am excited about all of the opportunities ahead.”

Prior to her consulting practice, Kissman served in several leadership roles including Leadership America’s leader of leaders — first as the Executive Director in 1996 and 1997 and then again as its President and CEO in 2000 and 2001. She lived in the United Arab Emirates in 1998 and 1999, where she was the founding director of the American University of Sharjah’s Continuing Education Center. Kissman also lived in Kuwait, where she was on the founding leadership team to establish the American University of Kuwait in 2004.

HBOIF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization under the Internal Revenue Service, and a Direct-Support Organization (DSO) of Florida Atlantic University benefitting Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. The DSO designation allows HBOIF to affiliate with the Florida Atlantic University Foundation, Inc., through which all private support dollars are administered. This arrangement allows HBOIF to benefit from the business operations of a larger foundation.

HBOIF is also the named recipient of the revenue generated from the four Harbor Branch specialty license plates owned by more than 140,000 Florida residents. The Harbor Branch specialty plates – Protect Wild Dolphins, Protect Florida Whales, Save Our Seas, and Aquaculture – are among Florida’s most popular, providing nearly $3 million for Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute research annually.

For more information, contact the HBOIF office at (772) 466-9876, ext. 222 or cbrennan@hboifoundation.org.