Dear friends and colleagues,

It has been a great pleasure leading and growing EMBARQ since we secured the founding grant from Shell Foundation in 2001. But after eight gratifying years as Director of EMBARQ, I’ve decided it is time for me to move on to new opportunities.

What began as little more than an ambitious idea has grown into an award-winning global network of centers that helps cities make sustainable transport a reality. EMBARQ’s local Centers for Sustainable Transport in Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, India and the Andean Region deliver urban mobility solutions to improve public transport, reduce air pollution and enhance safety in cities.

My departure comes at a perfect time in EMBARQ’s scale-up. This year, Bloomberg Philanthropies awarded EMBARQ with a multi-million-dollar, multi-year grant – the largest in WRI’s 28-year history – to work with our partners to implement a global urban transport, health and road safety program. At the same time, EMBARQ and the Center for Sustainable Transport in Mexico (CTS-México) are collaborating with FedEx Corp. to develop sustainable transportation projects in cities across Mexico. EMBARQ is eternally grateful for the continued support of its global strategic partners Shell Foundation and Caterpillar Foundation, without whose investment and confidence we would never have been able to make it this far.

EMBARQ’s mission will remain the same: to catalyze socially, financially, and environmentally sound solutions to improve the quality of life in cities. The ability to achieve these outcomes will continue to depend on our innovative and hard-working people who forge the partnerships and deliver solutions on the ground. I am very excited to see how the network is growing: we are committed to scaling elegantly as we increase staff across the EMBARQ Network by about 50% by the end of 2010!

I will be taking an active role for the next couple of months to ensure a sound and smooth transition. My final day as Director will be May 14th, after which I will still be available to EMBARQ for some months as a consultant to provide advice and help carry forward key projects with which I am very closely involved.

Clayton Lane, EMBARQ’s Chief Operating Officer, is leading the transition and will be the acting director once I step aside. Very soon, WRI will open a global search for the next leader of EMBARQ, so please check back on our Web site for further details: http://www.embarq.org/en/about/careers

Let’s stay in touch! You can find me online: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nancykete

Nancy Kete

UPDATE, 4/19/10: The EMBARQ Director job description is now available online. Apply now!