CAST Announces Leadership Transition for Later in 2021
Date:
Saturday, February 20, 2021
CAST’s Board of Directors today announced that Chief Executive Officer Linda Gerstle will retire on September 30. Russell Reynolds Associates, a leading global executive search firm, will work with CAST on the leadership transition process over the next several months.
Linda’s departure will coincide with the fifth anniversary of her arrival as CAST CEO in 2016 and has been long planned.
“Linda has been a wonderful leader in every way,” says Sheldon Berman, CAST Board Chair. “She came to CAST at a difficult time of transition. In a relatively short time, she was able to help us reimagine the organization and restore its best qualities—innovative, forward-looking, and nimble.
“Under Linda’s leadership, we’ve enhanced our technical assistance to K-12 educators, increased funding for CAST’s research and development efforts, expanded our workforce and postsecondary efforts, and scaled up our professional learning activities to impact practice through the adoption of Universal Design for Learning. CAST is well positioned today to disseminate a set of powerful ideas that will elevate education practices.”
“I look back with pride at what we’ve accomplished in these years and look forward with great expectations for CAST’s future,” says Linda. “I believe CAST’s best days are ahead, led as it is by an extraordinary group of education professionals committed to CAST’s mission to make a world where learning has no limits.”
Linda came to CAST after leading major state and national educational initiatives. She was CEO and President of ATLAS Learning Communities (2003–2010), a national consulting organization that partnered with 300 schools to enhance student learning and achievement, serving over 100,000 students in 16 states.
Earlier, Linda held leadership roles at Education Development Center, the Massachusetts Department of Education, and From the Top, a national radio and arts education program that offered a preeminent showcase for pre-collegiate musicians. She began her career providing music therapy for students with special needs.
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About CAST — Founded in 1984, CAST is a nonprofit whose mission is to transform education design and practice “until learning has no limits”®. Winner of the Smithsonian Innovation in Education award and many other honors, CAST conducts research and development, provides technical assistance and professional development, and publishes exceptional media for the education market. CAST authored the renowned Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework and UDL Guidelines.