Mar 12, 2010

News

NED Names J. William Leonard as Chief Operating Officer; New Hires in HR and Knowledge Management

WASHINGTON, DC –  J. William Leonard has been hired to serve as the first Chief Operating Officer for the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) effective March 15, 2010, reporting directly to NED President Carl Gershman. Also filling new positions at the Endowment are Sheri L. Melvin, Senior Director of Human Resources and Administration, and Paul B. Moniz, Senior Director of Knowledge Management and Information Technology. Both Melvin and Moniz started work on March 8.

The new positions are the second phase of a realignment of NED’s internal operations after a year-long organizational assessment carried out by the Endowment in response to several years of rapid growth. As COO, Leonard will be responsible for all operational and financial matters and for overseeing and coordinating NED resources in a way that will enable the Endowment to manage further growth while ensuring sound financial management and operating efficiency. 

“Since our founding, NED has grown from a small foundation that made 18 grants in our first year, to a multifaceted institution that is a center of both action and ideas, making more than 1200 grants in 2009,” said NED President Carl Gershman. “With the leadership of our Board of Directors, NED is preparing for another 25 years of growth, and the grants program – the core of the Endowment – will continue its outstanding work with the guidance of this new team.” 

J. William (Bill) Leonard brings to NED wide ranging leadership experience as a senior policy-maker and senior program manager within the Federal government where he has worked principally in the areas of Information Security at both the Department of Defense, where he rose to the rank of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Security and Information Operations, and most recently at the National Archives as Director of the Information Security Oversight Office, working for US Archivist Allen Weinstein. Weinstein, a key figure in NED’s history, served as the director of the study group that led to NED’s founding. Leonard earned his bachelor’s degree in history at St. John’s University, and a master’s in international relations from Boston University. He has served as an adjunct professor of political science at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and resides in Leonardtown, MD.

A Certified Benefits Professional (CPB), Sheri L. Melvin has 22 years of human resource experience, serving most recently as Director of Human Resources at XM Satellite Radio. She has also served as a Senior Employee Benefits Representative at the Gillette Company, and held similar positions at the Clark Construction Company and Schering- Plough Corporation. Melvin earned her BA in Behavioral Science at Drew University, and now resides in Laurel, MD.

Paul B. Moniz comes to NED with 23 years of information technology experience, most recently as Vice President, Information Systems, Urban Land Institute (ULI). He previously served as a Senior Program Manager at SAIC/Center for Information Security Technology, as an Associate at Booz-Allen & Hamilton, and as Vice President of Technology at the Electronic Messaging Association. Moniz earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Maryland and an MS in Technology Management/CIO at George Mason University, and resides in Alexandria, VA.

NED is a private, nonprofit, grant-making foundation with a mission to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. With an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress, the NED Board, which is independent and bipartisan, makes more than a thousand grants each year to support prodemocracy groups in nearly 90 countries. The Endowment supports projects that promote political and economic freedom and participation, human rights, a strong civil society, independent media and the rule of law. More information about NED can be found on its Web site www.ned.org.