Heal the Bay's Mark Gold Resigns

Heal the Bay President Mark Gold, who has worked for the water quality watchdog since 1988 and became its executive director in 1994, announced Tuesday he will step down from his current role as president of the organization at the end of the month. He will remain on the Board of Directors.

A notice on Heal the Bay's website states Gold has accepted a position as associate director of UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. He will begin the new job Jan. 30.

"I have been lucky to be part of an environmental organization that has achieved so much to better Southern California," Gold said, according to the website. "I've had the privilege to work with many incredible leaders, staff members and volunteers that have shared a common vision of clean water and protected watersheds.

"I am confident that the senior management team we've spent years developing will continue to move the organization forward. Heal the Bay will always be an important part of me, but I look forward to new challenges at UCLA's Institute of the Environment."

Heal the Bay spokesman Matthew King wrote in an email to Patch, "The board of directors will be meeting shortly to finalize the management structure of Heal the Bay moving forward. Longtime executive director Karin Hall and Associate Director Alix Hobbs, who have been here more than 10 years, will provide day-to-day management and organizational supervision."

King further wrote that because Gold will remain on the nonprofit's board, "we can continue to tap into his expertise."

Gold came to Heal the Bay as a staff scientist in 1988. He became the executive director in 1994 and was named president in 2006.

Patch will have more information on this story soon.