President & Executive Director of The English-Speaking Union to Retire

NEW YORK - Feb. 5, 2014 - PRLog -- Josiah Bunting III, Chairman of The English-Speaking Union of the United States (ESU) announced the retirement of Alice Boyne, President & Executive Director, effective February 28, 2014 and the promotion of Deputy Director Christopher Broadwell to the position of Executive Director.

In a message to ESU members, Mr. Bunting stated, “I have accepted Alice Boyne's letter of retirement from the office of President & Executive Director with regret and sadness, which will be shared by numberless colleagues and friends of the English-Speaking Union.  At the end of February, Alice will close out from 43 years of service to our family, leaving behind a living legacy of selfless devotion to our cause and an example of dedication and fidelity to Mission unlikely to be challenged in our future.  A length of service and selfless dedication, Alice's tenure will inspire succeeding generations of ESU members as well as strengthen their determination to assure the continuing vitality and growth of the ESU as we approach our Centennial five years hence.”

During her career at the ESU, Ms. Boyne held several leadership positions and launched the English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition, the current iteration of the British University Summer School Fellowships, the Shakespeare Set Free Institutes for teachers, the Middle School Debate Program, the Evelyn Wrench Speaker Program and the Andrew Romay New Immigrant Center.

In her letter to the ESU Board, Ms. Boyne said “I am enormously grateful to the ESU for such a rich career, doing work that was stimulating and enjoyable and challenging and that changed so many lives."

The English-Speaking Union of the United States is a non-profit, non-political educational organization that celebrates English as a shared language to foster global understanding and good will by providing educational and cultural opportunities for students, educators, and members.  Founded in 1920, the ESU is a 501(c)(3) charitable educational organization headquartered in New York City with some 6,000 members nationwide.

An independent American corporation, the ESU carries out its work through a network of 68 U.S. Branches, sponsoring a variety of language and international education programs including scholarships, teacher education and conversational English tutoring.  It also conducts book and cultural exchanges working in fellowship with some 55 independent ESUs around the world.  Most prominent of its programs is the English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition, a school-based program to develop students’ speaking and critical thinking skills, through ESU Branch-sponsored community competitions and at the National Competition at Lincoln Center in New York City.  Inaugurated in 1983, the program has engaged more than 250,000 young people.