Irving, Texas (May 13, 2015) — Following an extensive selection process, the Boy Scouts of America named Michael Surbaugh its next Chief Scout Executive, the organization’s top professional. Surbaugh, the BSA’s current Group Director of HR, Innovation, Exploring and Learning for Life, will provide general direction of administrative work of the BSA. He follows Wayne Brock, who will retire in October, at the conclusion of his three-year term as Chief Scout Executive.
“I am honored and humbled to have been selected as the Boy Scouts of America’s Chief Scout Executive,” said Michael Surbaugh. “As I transition into this role, I am committed to continuing the legacy of leadership to solidify Scouting’s role in the development of America’s youth and to empower our volunteers to deliver the kind of life-changing experiences that can only be found within Scouting.”
Serving as Group Director since 2014, Surbaugh has demonstrated a record of success and achievement in fundraising, membership and program development. He has developed numerous innovative programs designed to meet the needs of employees, volunteers and youth. In each assignment, Surbaugh has also worked to extend Scouting’s reach in disadvantaged communities, Native American outreach, and those with Special Needs.
Surbaugh began his career in 1984 as a District Executive in Jacksonville, FL, and then served as a Senior District Executive and Program Director in Syracuse, NY; Director of Field Services, Director of Development, Field Director and Development Director in Minneapolis, MN; Scout Executive in Sioux Falls, SD; Scout Executive in Appleton, WI; and Scout Executive in Pittsburgh, PA.
Surbaugh is the recipient of many BSA awards including Eagle Scout, Vigil Honor Member of the Order of the Arrow, Woodbadge, and through a strong interest in the out of doors, served as Camp Director and a member of summer camp staffs for 12 years. Surbaugh graduated from Salem College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Youth Agency Administration.
The Chief Scout Executive Selection Committee was composed of nine members of the BSA National Executive Board and chaired by the president of the BSA, Dr. Robert M. Gates, an Eagle Scout and former secretary of defense.
“Today’s kids need Scouting more than ever, and Michael Surbaugh possesses deep institutional knowledge, operational experience, and personal fortitude to chart a path forward that combines Scouting’s long-standing values and ideas with the forward-thinking and innovative approach our organization needs to help us continue to grow,” Gates said.
In October, Surbaugh will join Gates and National Commissioner Tico Perez, the top volunteer in charge of program quality, to make up the BSA’s “Key 3.” The trio, consisting of two volunteers and one professional, make up the organization’s highest level of leadership at the national level.
About the Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®” The Scouting organization is composed of nearly 2.4 million youth members between the ages of 7 and 21 and approximately 960,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.scouting.org.
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