We don't normally write Watcher pieces about OMB Watch's internal activities. We thought it only fitting, however, to share with you a significant change in our board of directors. After 18 remarkable years as chair of OMB Watch's board, Mark Rosenman recently stepped down as chair (although, to our relief, will remain on the board).

Fellow board member Paul Marchand, a leader in the disability community and director of The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy Disability Policy Collaboration, has taken over where Mark left off, assuming the role of board chair last month. The transition has been a smooth one, so OMB Watch has not missed a beat in our work toward greater government accountability and citizen participation.

It has been an honor and a privilege to work with Mark as he chaired the board these years. Mark, a faculty member of The Union Institute and University, started on the board in the mid-1980s and became co-chair in 1987. Not long after an anonymous OMB political appointee was quoted in The Washington Post, calling OMB Watch "three guys and a goddamned mimeograph machine."

From those humble beginnings, Mark oversaw the growth of OMB Watch as it became an important player in progressive policy circles, as well as a reliable resource to state and local nonprofit organizations across the country. Today, we're "twenty people and the goddamned Internet!" And the organization continues to get major bang for its buck.

Under Mark's steady hand, OMB Watch saw many accomplishments. Some highlights on the policy front included successfully stopping many of the provisions in the Contract with America, a raft of constitutional balanced budget amendments, and several attacks on nonprofit advocacy and free speech. At the same time, OMB Watch played a leadership role on strengthening the public's right to know. In 1989, we created RTK NET, providing online access to toxics and health data.

It was after the 9/11 terrorist attacks that Mark's leadership and commitment to the public's right to know was truly tested. He lead the board through a process that concluded with a decision to continue providing access to executive summaries of EPA’s Risk Management Plans, even when EPA decided to remove the data from its web site. This action resulted in communities across the country continuing to have available to them information about chemical dangers, and in several parts of the country changes to reduce community hazards.

Mark's leadership style is a model for other nonprofit board chairs. He involved board members in decisions, and took those extra few moments to reach out to board members between meetings to get their thoughts. His communication style, at once friendly and direct, helped to create a healthy organizational climate, in which board members help set organizational goals and trust in staff work plans to achieve those goals. By example, he demonstrated how a board should provide organizational leadership and fiduciary responsibility.

Paul, for his part, has worked in Washington for nearly 30 years and has had a hand in virtually every piece of federal legislation affecting persons with disabilities. From education rights to civil rights, from health care to housing, Paul has been a leader. He was also a central figure behind the creation of the Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities, the nation's leading coalition of organizations advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities. We believe his experience with coalition building and organizing around issues will prove invaluable to OMB Watch.

The entire OMB Watch staff will miss Mark's guidance, insight, and humor as chair of the board. Yet we are comforted by Paul's expertise and experience in leading national policy efforts, and we look forward to continuing and expanding our work under his leadership.

If you ever have comments for Paul or me, or wish to share your thoughts on Mark's past leadership, feel free to send us a message at ombwatch@ombwatch.org.

Sincerely,

Gary D. Bass
Executive Director
OMB Watch