CANASA announced that its Executive Director J. David Ritter has resigned. Ritter assumed leadership February 13, 2017.

In a written statement, CANASA said Ritter resigned due to personal health reasons, effective April 26. 2017. The statement also said Ritter “was instrumental in implementing several recent initiatives, including several new Affinity partnerships and was eager to work with the newly elected board of directors.”

The statement continued, “CANASA’s executive committee and national board will continue to support the staff and the directors in their roles, to ensure the momentum on these initiatives continues during our search for a replacement executive director.”

Heather Terrence, who was the executive director before Ritter, stepped down for personal reasons October 7, 2016 after serving as executive director less than a year, and between that time and when Ritter assumed leadership in 2017, the CANASA directors fulfilled the responsibilities of the executive director role, said a spokesperson from CANASA.