In a society increasingly defined by uncertainty and change, it's a special honor to serve as Chair of the Consumer Reports Board—helping guide an organization that offers people certainty and confidence, and fights to put them first in an ever-shifting world.

Of course, CR has always been a source of stability and power for consumers. That was true in the 1930s, as advertisements began to enter American living rooms like never before. It was true in the post-War era, as consumers fought for—and won—new standards for clean air and water, car safety features, and so much else. And it was true in the first years of the 21st century, as a global financial crisis revealed the urgent need for meaningful consumer financial protections.

The CR legacy lives in each of those moments, and is alive in so many more. But despite our historic victories, it is entirely possible that the people we serve have never needed CR and our mission as much as they do today. Change is coming more quickly to our lives than it ever has before. The choices we face as consumers are mired in new complexities. We are surrounded by more information than ever, often from potentially dubious sources. The age of digital advertising has developed subtler and more insidious forms of influence, fueled by algorithms and sophisticated targeting, and precisely engineered to manipulate our decision-making processes. In short: the world around us is simply less trustworthy than it has ever been in our lifetimes.

It's within that swirling chaos that CR thrives as a beacon of clarity and trust. This year has seen us dig deeper into the frontiers that need our rigor, independence, and integrity the most—including the digital sphere. Once an element of our lives into which most of us would never expect to have much knowledge or insight, today CR is making it possible for people to make purchasing decisions based on how well a wireless router guards against hacking or how liable a ‘smart' appliance is to share their personal data. Shining a light into dark spaces where our rights are at stake has always been part of CR's story; today, we're offering that light to consumers in the places and platforms they rely on most.

In a rapidly-shifting economy, the need for CR shows up in modern arenas like hidden service fees—where our What the Fee?! initiative has galvanized thousands of consumers to share their stories and fight back against the opaque charges that pepper our cable bills, concert tickets, and so much else. It shows up in the realm of privacy, where our innovative testing and advocacy approaches are helping consumers fix insufficient digital privacy laws and fight back against the scourge of robocalls. And it shows up in the burgeoning world of autonomous vehicles, where CR is working to build new guardrails as innovation continues to dramatically outrace safety standards.

With the same bedrock values that have animated our work for 83 years and counting, CR will keep fighting to bring stability and consumer empowerment to new and evolving avenues of our lives. I am so pleased to be a part of that work at this critical moment—and I look forward to continuing to work with our members, partners, fellow board members, and CR leadership to help deliver greater fairness, safety, and transparency to our ever-changing marketplace.