Dani Eyer, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, plans to step down later this year.

Eyer started volunteering with the ACLU the week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and was selected as the new director within a year.

"Organizations can always use an influx of energy and change," Eyer said.

The Utah ACLU board is conducting a national search. Eyer will stay on until a replacement is found.

Eyer has been the voice of the Utah ACLU on controversial issues such as Utah's constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. Perhaps the highest-profile issue of Eyer's tenure was a lawsuit challenging the sale of a block of Main Street to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.