Message from the International President

This month we spotlight updates on the search for a new CEO, and a discussion of the work of ASA’s Board of Governors.

CEO Search Update

Our CEO Search Committee has received over 75 applications for our open Chief Executive Officer position. The posting will remain open through the end of March, with our search committee starting their work in upcoming weeks to screen applicants and conduct the first round of interviews. Final interviews, which will be conducted by our Board of Directors, are scheduled for mid-May, and we hope to have a CEO hired soon after that.

How the Board of Governors Works

One of the challenges within ASA is understanding how all the pieces of elected leadership–at the chapter, discipline, and international level–work together and how they interact with our CEO and ASA staff. While addressing how ASA uses “policy governance,” our model of governance, is much too long for this message, I thought I’d give an example of how it can sometimes work.

The Gems & Jewelry (GJ) Committee had recently discussed changes to how GJ candidates can become Accredited Members. GJ is unique within ASA in that its designation requires a gemology diploma, such as those offered by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) or the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (GEM-A). Additionally, GJ requires the review and approval of two demonstration reports that not only satisfy ASA Board of Examiner requirements but also meet discipline standards on the research and analysis for each valued item and require the student to explain their research, analysis, calculations, and conclusions.

Because of GJ’s additional requirements, which are above and beyond those required by The Appraisal Foundation, the GJ committee requested changes in the ASA accreditation process to allow their candidates an option to rely on a combination of market-related personal property non-appraisal experience and appraisal experience to earn their designations.

A formal proposal was developed by Gems & Jewelry Committee Chair Mary Reich with assistance from members of the Board of Governors. It included necessary changes to the ASA operational manual and directed ASA headquarters staff to make necessary changes to the GJ accreditation guide.

The Board of Governors reviews such changes to ensure they are in the best interests of not only the discipline but also of ASA as a whole. It is important for ASA to maintain the high standards of professionalism and competence that are expected by our existing members and the public. The GJ proposal was approved at the January Board of Governors meeting and is currently being implemented. It allows ASA to streamline the process for highly qualified candidates to become full members and should allow ASA to grow its membership.

Thank you for your continued support of ASA.

Best regards,

Garrett Schwartz

ASA International President
president@appraisers.org