ST. LOUIS (AP) – Former Missouri Gov. Bob Holden is the newest member of the executive committee for the state NAACP.

The appointment was announced Thursday. Holden will be among 18 recently appointed executive committee members from across Missouri.

Missouri NAACP president Nimrod Chapel says the organization is seeking to diversify leadership. He called Holden, who is white, an “advocate for diversity, inclusion and equality.”

Holden, a Democrat, served as governor from 2001 to 2005. He now teaches politics at Webster University and is founder and director of the Holden Public Policy forum at Webster.