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Steven Ganz, first executive director of the Western States Seismic Policy Council (WSSPC), recently moved to the private sector, joining an Internet start-up based in San Francisco. In that move, the Earthquake Information Providers (EqIP) also loses a member of its steering committee. A graduate of the John F. Kennedy School
of Government at Harvard, Ganz's master's degree is in public
policy and urban planning. Using that background and management
and entrepreneurial skills during his tenure at SSPC, he developed
several outstanding programs, including a state-of-the-art Web
service and a series of excellent annual meetings and workshops
featuring earthquake-related public policy issues, recent research
on seismic hazards in the western states, and insurance-related
issues and He developed partnerships with other organizations that focus on seismic issues and research and was a technical advisor and leader among such partnerships. Jill Andrews, SCEC outreach director, said, "We in the SCEC com-munity will greatly miss Steve's professional approach to bringing together people in both public and private organizations to reach consensus on earthquake-related public policy issues. "We thank Steve for his contributions to society through associa-tion with WSSPC, and wish him all the best in his new endeavor." In a recent message to the earthquake research community, Ganz said of the move, "I am very sad to leave the organization, but at the same time very excited about my new opportunities. I have thoroughly enjoy working at WSSPC. I truly believe that WSSPC is an organization with a focused mission and a unique ability to continue making a significant impact in improving the means to reduce the threat of earthquake hazards." |