Clair Good has been appointed executive director of Mennonite Disaster Service U.S.

Good joins MDS from Mennonite Central Committee, where he most recently served as Plain community liaison, strengthening constituent engagement, donor relations, resource generation and volunteer involvement.

“He brings a remarkable breadth of experience as a missionary, administrator, development worker, peacebuilder and pastor, shaped through service in the United States, England, Israel, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya,” said MDS U.S. board chair Wayne Yoder. “Clair is a seasoned strategic visionary with more than four decades of leadership experience across global, intercultural and community-based settings.”

Good said he wasn’t looking for a new job, but when he read the job description, he realized it described him on a deep level.

“My wife also said, ‘This is who you are,’ and my children said, ‘This is who you are.’ That affirmation pushed me in a time I was trying to be comfortable,” he said. “I am a collaborative leader who likes to see people who don’t always agree with each other working together. I don’t think there’s anything that brings me more joy.”

Good looks forward to working with the constituencies within MDS.

“They all work together to accomplish the specific purposes of rebuilding hope and rebuilding communities while listening to their needs,” he said.

Born in Lancas­ter County, Pa., and raised on a dairy farm near Canton, Good’s career spans cross-cultural ministry, community development, construction, trauma-­informed response and organizational leadership. He is married to Beth Good, global service-learning director at MCC. They attend Forest Hills Mennonite Church in Leola.

Good will begin his new position Oct. 1 and overlap with current U.S. executive director Kevin King, who will assume a consultant role from Oct. 26 to Dec. 31, when he fully retires.