UPPER EAST SIDE — After two decades, the executive director of nonprofit sports complex Asphalt Green will retire at the end of the month, the nonprofit announced.
Carol Tweedy, who plans to leave the post on July 1, will be succeeded by Maggy Siegel, who most recently served as the CEO of national nonprofit CancerCare.
“It has been an honor to lead Asphalt Green over the past 20 years, bringing vital sports and fitness programs to tens of thousands of New Yorkers each year,” Tweedy said in a statement. “Asphalt Green has a bright future ahead and I look forward to watching the organization continue to thrive and grow under the direction of Maggy.”
Tweedy, 70, joined Asphalt Green in 1994, when the sports and fitness center was in bad financial shape, and eliminated its $2 million debt.
Tweedy presided over an expansion of Asphalt Green’s programs, particularly those that reach out to underserved communities. Under her leadership, Asphalt Green partnered with public schools to help them introduce children to physical fitness, according to the center's website. Its Recess Enhancement program now serves 60 public schools and more than 27,000 children each year.
Asphalt Green also rewrote the fitness curriculum for the Department of Aging to reflect a more up-to-date understanding of seniors’ health, a profile of Tweedy said.
Under Tweedy’s leadership, Asphalt Green also launched a program that teaches public school students to swim, reaching more than 30,000 children since it started in 1994, the center's website said.
Tweedy has also been a vocal opponent of the city’s plan to build a waste transfer station next door to Asphalt Green’s Upper East Side facility, which hosts thousands of children each year for sports leagues and events. She was recently arrested during a protest against the start of work on the station on May 23.
“As a neighbor of Asphalt Green on the Upper East Side for over 25 years, my family and I have personally benefitted from Carol's dedication to making Asphalt Green such an exceptional place,” Siegel said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the entire AG board and staff to ensure and expand upon her many accomplishments.”
Siegel, 57, has a history of success in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors, according to the statement. She has served as the president of Dylan's Candy Bar and in leadership roles at Chanel USA, Coach and Tiffany & Co. Siegel later became the acting CEO of CancerCare, a nonprofit that provides free support services to anyone affected by cancer.
Siegel, who was chosen after a search that began in November 2013, will step into her new role on July 1, the statement said.
One of her immediate tasks will be to complete the $2.25 million FIT KIDS FIT CITY fundraising campaign to support free programs in school playgrounds, gymnasiums, and pools across New York City, the statement added.
