REHOBOTH BEACH, De — The Board of Directors of the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays announced the resignation of Executive Director Chris Bason. He joined the Center in 2004 to lead an assessment of the watershed’s wetlands and was subsequently promoted to the role of Science Coordinator. In 2011, he assumed the operations of the Center as its third Executive Director.
“We are sorry to lose Chris, whose talent and hard work have led the Center through a period of extensive growth and success,” said Susan Ball, Board Chair. “His professional, dedicated, and passionate leadership has made a tremendous impact on the community and we wish him the best of luck in his new endeavor.”
The creation of the comprehensive State of the Bays report demonstrating continued water quality improvement; development of legislation allowing shellfish farming; renovation of the James Farm Ecological Preserve; large-scale expansion of citizen-based environmental monitoring; and creation of initiatives for reforestation, oyster restoration, and living shorelines. During Chris’s directorship, the Center developed financially, quadrupling its budget, and grew into a strong and trusted environmental advocate.
The Board says Anna Fagan has been named Deputy Director and will serve as Acting Director during this transition. She joined the Center in 2018 as Administrative Specialist and was promoted to Development Coordinator that same year.
“Working under Chris’s leadership has been a truly rewarding experience,” said Fagan. “Though we are sad to see him go, we offer our full support for his decision and will carry forth with fulfilling the Center’s mission during this transition.”
The Board is proud of all the Center has accomplished since its establishment in 1994, and recognizes that this success is due to our skilled and hard-working staff and volunteers, the devotion of our donors, and the support of our community and partners. The members of the Board of Directors are committed to assisting our very dedicated and talented staff through this transition. Over the next few months, an extensive search will be conducted to find the Center’s new Executive Director. The priority is to find the best individual to lead and whoever is selected will have a wonderful opportunity to build on and capitalize on all of Chris’s outstanding work.
“Serving the Center has been an incredible privilege,” said Bason. “The friendship, trust, and support that I have experienced here have been overwhelming and I am forever dedicated to this organization. This community’s commitment to the water and our way of life is unparalleled and it gets stronger every day.”
Bason's resignation takes effect on April 18.