INDIANAPOLIS – January 15, 2010 – The Kiwanis International Board of Trustees today named Stan D. Soderstrom Executive Director of Kiwanis and the Kiwanis International Foundation effective immediately. Kiwanis is a worldwide service organization in more than 70 nations. As Kiwanis’ chief executive, Soderstrom is responsible for supporting the international board, and providing leadership and direction to staff and volunteers for the global organization of both adult and youth members totaling more than 600,000. He will also work alongside Kiwanis Foundation executive leadership to provide grants to thousands of organizations worldwide aimed at making better the lives of children.
Soderstrom joined the Kiwanis staff in 1997, and recently held the positions of Interim Executive Director and Chief Impact Officer. In his previous role, he focused on the successful growth and development of the Kiwanis’ youth and adult leadership development programs around the world, as well as strategic planning and board governance for Kiwanis International and its two youth organizations, Key Club International and Circle K International.
Stan also led the introduction and development of new membership-based service clubs for elementary school children and adults with disabilities. During that time, Kiwanis enjoyed a 75% increase in total paid membership of its youth and young adult clubs’ membership.
He completed undergraduate studies at Texas Tech University and graduate coursework at the University of Texas at Austin.
Stan leads Kiwanis as it searches for its next Worldwide Service Project. The International Board of Trustees this week heard proposals from issue experts and advocates on four potential projects: malaria; maternal and neonatal tetanus; tropical diseases; and education and literacy.
Active in the Kiwanis family since 1974, he was a district officer in both Key Club and Circle K, and would later serve as both a Circle K and Key Club district administrator for the Texas-Oklahoma District.
ABOUT KIWANIS INTERNATIONAL:
Founded in 1915, Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. Kiwanis International and its Service Leadership Programs for young people, including Circle K, Key Club, Key Leader, Builders Club, K-Kids, Kiwanis Junior, and Aktion Club, dedicate more than 19 million volunteer hours and invest US$100 million to strengthen communities and serve children annually. The Kiwanis International family is composed of 600,000 adult and youth members in 15,000 clubs in more than 70 countries and geographic areas. Kiwanis members make their mark by responding to the needs of their communities and pooling their resources to address worldwide issues. Globally, Kiwanis International has focused humanitarian efforts on eliminating iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) through the Worldwide Service Project, a US$75 million campaign in partnership with UNICEF, which began in 1994. For more information about Kiwanis International, please visit www.kiwanis.org or call 800-KIWANIS.
Posted
Jan 15 2010, 01:54 PM
by
Scott Smith