Dr. Sybil Francis Named President & CEO of the Center for the Future of Arizona
The Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA), a nonpartisan, nonprofit “do tank” focused on Arizona’s future success, today announced that Dr. Sybil Francis has been named President & CEO, effective July 1, 2018. Francis succeeds Arizona State University President-Emeritus Lattie F. Coor, CFA’s founding Chairman, who has served as CEO since its inception in 2002.
Chairman Coor, with the full support of CFA’s Board of Directors José Cárdena, George Dean, Paul Luna, Ruth McGregor, Bill Post, Ron Shoopman and Don Smith, were unanimous in their selection of Francis to this new leadership role.
“Sybil has been involved in all aspects of CFA’s work and has played a particularly important role, as Executive Director, in creating and implementing our programs in Education and Workforce Innovation,” said Lattie F. Coor, CFA Chairman. “The board and I are confident that CFA, under her leadership as President and CEO, will continue to make a positive and lasting impact for Arizona’s future. I look forward to continuing our work together in the years ahead.”
“We founded CFA more than 15 years ago on the idea that we must focus on the priorities which are most important to Arizonans. Representing their voices is essential to creating a bright future for Arizona that serves us all,” said Sybil Francis, CFA President and CEO. “This idea is at the heart of The Arizona We Want and is the foundation for a shared vision that can advance every community. I look forward to building on the successes we’ve achieved in partnership with public and private sector leaders, and continuing our collaborations with them to address and solve the critical issues facing our state.”
About Sybil Francis
Francis is a founding member, President & CEO of the Center for the Future of Arizona. She oversees CFA’s strategic innovations, research and partnerships as well as advances key initiatives that are part of CFA’s core work areas including Arizona Progress Meters, Civic Health and Education & Workforce. Prior to her role as President and CEO, she served as Executive Director.
Francis serves on multiple boards and committees including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) as a Fellow and member of the Electorate Nominating Committee; The Nature Conservancy Arizona Chapter Board of Trustees and is Chair of its Conservation and Public Policy Committee; she is a member of the ASU Preparatory Academy’s Board of Directors; a member of the Expect More Arizona Statewide Advisory Council; and a member of the Arizona Business & Education Coalition Board of Directors. Francis also is founding member and Co-Chair of Arizona State University Foundation’s Women and Philanthropy program; a member of the Arizona Women’s Forum; and a member of Charter 100.
Prior to moving to Arizona in 2002, Francis’ public policy work focused on advancing the national science and technology enterprise. She is a public policy architect committed to advancing innovative solutions to societal imperatives. Francis began her career working in the U.S. House of Representatives and later served in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under the Executive Office of the President.
Francis holds a B.A. in Chemistry at Oberlin College and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
About the Center for the Future of Arizona
The Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) is helping define and shape Arizona’s future through an action-oriented agenda that focuses on issues critical to the state. CFA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit “do tank” that combines research with collaborative partnerships and initiatives that drive the state’s economic prosperity, quality of life and civic health, and create a better future for all Arizonans.