
December 11, 2024 – The Board of Directors of The Decatur Area Habitat for Humanity have announced that Ed Smith, Executive Director of the organization, will retire on January 2, 2025.
Ed Smith has been the Executive Director of the nonprofit organization that serves the Macon County area since 2015. Smith is a Decatur native, graduating from St. Teresa High School and later studied Law Enforcement and earned a degree from the University of Illinois – Springfield.
Smith first became involved with Habitat in 2014, where he was a project manager for the Decatur Catholic Community partnership with Habitat for Humanity. In July of 2015, he accepted the position of Executive Director for the organization.
During his tenure at Habitat, Smith helped oversee the building of several homes and the opening of the ReStore. He was part of reconnecting Habitat with the City of Decatur for the remodeling of existing homes and he helped partner with the high school vocational building class to create apprenticeship opportunities for the students.
Effective January 1, 2025, the Board of Directors will welcome Carl Fuerstenberg into the position of Executive Director.
Originally from Wisconsin, Fuerstenberg brings with him extensive Project Management and Sales Account Manager experience, in addition to Human Resources experience. Fuerstenberg earned a degree in Criminal Justice from a community college in Appleton, Wisconsin and later, returned to that same college to work on a Human Resources degree.