NCPG Taps Charles Jeffers to Lead Operations Before 2027 Executive Search
NCPG has put an experienced interim executive in charge as it prepares to begin a permanent leadership search in January 2027. Charles H. Jeffers II will oversee strategic operations at the Washington-based nonprofit, which focuses on reducing gambling harm. That gives the organization a temporary point of leadership while the board works toward a longer appointment. The distinction matters: an interim executive can provide continuity, but the permanent search will determine who sets NCPG’s direction beyond the transition.
The board named Jeffers with immediate effect, following executive director Heather Maurer’s resignation. Maurer remained in the role through October 16 to support the handover after announcing her departure on September 26. The board had already begun planning a national search; it now expects recruitment to start in January, led by executive search firm Vetted Solutions. That timetable gives NCPG a defined next step, though the source doesn’t specify how long the search will take or when the board expects to name a successor.
An interim leader with nonprofit experience
Jeffers founded The Jeffers Group, a consultancy that places interim executives and advises boards on governance, strategy and organizational culture. NCPG says he brings more than 30 years of nonprofit leadership and consulting experience. That background is relevant to a short-term assignment in which the board needs someone who can manage daily operations while keeping organizational priorities in view. Experience with governance and culture may also help him work across the board and staff during a period of uncertainty.
His previous roles include interim executive director of the American Occupational Therapy Association and CEO of the Bermuda Tourism Authority. He holds a master of public administration degree from Georgia State University. Those roles span nonprofit leadership and tourism, so his résumé points to experience in different kinds of organizations. It doesn’t, by itself, explain how he’ll approach the specific challenges facing NCPG; the board’s stated priorities offer a clearer indication of what it expects from him now.
Board president Derek Longmeier said Jeffers would focus on “operations aligned with strategy and transparency, and culture reflecting NCPG values” during the transition. That language sets out a broad brief, rather than a list of measurable goals. NCPG hasn’t said whether Jeffers will be considered for the permanent position. That leaves the interim role’s relationship to the search open, and it means the board will need to communicate how it plans to assess candidates and define the organization’s next phase.
A mandate shaped by changing gambling products
The appointment comes as NCPG addresses questions raised by newer products and services. Founded in 1972, the council describes itself as the only national nonprofit focused on reducing gambling harm. It maintains a neutral position on gambling legality and operates the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET. That combination of public service and policy neutrality gives the organization a distinctive role: it can speak about harm and support while leaving legal judgments to the institutions responsible for making them.
In June, NCPG introduced a Financial Services and Trading membership subcategory covering areas such as financial trading platforms and prediction markets. The council said questions about legality, licensing and litigation belong to regulators, lawmakers and courts. The new category signals that NCPG sees a need to engage with organizations connected to products that may raise questions about gambling harm, even where legal boundaries are disputed. It doesn’t resolve those questions. Instead, it creates a way for the council to bring such members into its work while maintaining its stated position on legality.
NCPG has also urged prediction market operators to promote its helpline and submitted comments to the CFTC on event contracts. These steps put the council in contact with both operators and public bodies as debate over the products develops. Similar work often requires organizations to explain what they can address directly—such as access to support—and what sits outside their authority. (And this is the part most people overlook.) A neutral stance on legality doesn’t remove the need to make practical choices about engagement, messaging and the people who may be affected.
Pressure on support services and the work ahead
At the state level, rising sports betting activity has put pressure on treatment services, including in North Carolina. The source doesn’t quantify that pressure or describe its effects in detail, so the scale of the strain remains unclear here. Still, the connection points to an operational challenge for an organization focused on reducing harm: public-facing support needs to remain visible and useful as gambling products and access change. For NCPG, the helpline is a concrete part of that work, while its policy and membership activities address broader questions about the industry.
This is more significant than it looks. Leadership transitions can compete with an organization’s day-to-day priorities, especially when it’s also responding to questions about emerging products and service capacity. Jeffers’ immediate task is to keep NCPG’s operations aligned with its strategy while the board prepares its search. That asks him to provide continuity without deciding the organization’s longer-term direction on his own.
If you’re working in this space, the useful test will be whether NCPG can keep its public support work steady while clarifying how it engages with newer market participants. The January timetable gives the organization a defined point to begin choosing its next permanent leader, but a start date is only one part of a search. The board’s account of the role, the priorities it sets and the clarity it provides about the transition will shape how much confidence staff and outside partners can place in the process. For now, the assignment is straightforward in outline. The execution will take judgment.
