Andrew Schneider, ACLU of West Virginia Executive Director, to Head up ACLU of Connecticut
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2007
CONTACT: Andrew Schneider, 304-345-9246
CHARLESTON – The ACLU of West Virginia announced today that Executive Director Andrew Schneider will soon leave West Virginia to assume the role of Executive Director of the ACLU of Connecticut. Schneider has served as Executive Director of the ACLU of West Virginia for the past six years.
"Andrew Schneider has been an exceptional Executive Director for the ACLU of West Virginia,” said ACLU-WV Board President William Denman. “His impact on civil liberties in our state through his lobbying work and his direction of our legal efforts has been immense. He has truly built the ACLU-WV into a significant force in West Virginia. He will be a very hard act to follow."
When Schneider takes up the helm of the Connecticut ACLU, he will be returning to the affiliate he left six years ago as Development Director. “The decision to take this opportunity was a bittersweet one,” said Schneider. “While I’m excited about the challenge of heading up a larger ACLU office and moving closer to my family, I have grown quite attached to my adopted state of West Virginia – its beauty, the rich culture, and most importantly, some of the friendliest and warmest people I’ve ever met. I will sorely miss the outstanding ACLU-WV staff and Board of Directors with whom I’ve had the privilege of working and the many great friends I’ve made here.”
Schneider leaves the organization as one of the fastest growing ACLU affiliates in the nation, having overseen its growth during a critical time for civil liberties in the post-9/11 era. Since 2001, the ACLU of West Virginia has seen an increase in membership from 600 to almost 2000, in staff from two to six, in its legal docket from one case to six, and in budget from $100,000 to $500,000. The growth has even exceeded the tremendous expansion the ACLU has experienced nationally.
The ACLU of West Virginia is launching a search for a new Executive Director. Board President William Denman also announced that Legal Director Terri Baur will serve as Interim Executive Director until a successor is hired. "Terri Baur came to the ACLU-WV with an extensive background as a manager of non-profit organizations, and her legal work for us has been outstanding. We are very lucky to be able to have her move into the post of Interim Director."
The ACLU has had a presence in West Virginia since 1920 when it sent lawyers to the state to represent coal miners who were denied the right to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining. The ACLU established a state affiliate in 1971 and since then has become widely recognized as the state’s foremost advocate of civil liberties and civil rights.
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