Rob Riley joins Northern Forest Center
CONTACT:
Shelly Angers, Northern Forest Center, 603-229-0679
ext 109; email: sangers@northernforest.org
The Northern Forest Center is pleased to announce
that Rob Riley has joined its staff as Director of
Programs. In this new position, Riley will support
the Center’s ongoing program work and oversee the
development of new programs that evolve from the
recommendations of the Center’s Sustainable Economy
Initiative project.
Riley most recently served as director of MicroCredit-NH,
a statewide community economic development program
of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, a New Hampshire
non-profit corporation. At MicroCredit-NH he provided
strategic development of statewide programs, designed
new program initiatives and strategic partnerships,
and secured and expanded financial support through
public and private investment.
“Rob’s many years of experience strengthening communities
and developing entrepreneurship by encouraging organizations
to work together for the greater good will have tremendous
impact on our all of our programs, especially the
Sustainable Economy Initiative,” said Stephen D.
Blackmer, president of the Northern Forest Center.
“We are thrilled to have him as part of our team
as we work to build a more vibrant future for the
Northern Forest region.”
The Sustainable Economy Initiative (SEI) is developing
a strategic blueprint for sustainable economic development
in the Northern Forest region based on balanced investment
in business, community and environment. A project
of the Northern Forest Center and New Hampshire’s
North Country Council, SEI is directed by a steering
committee jointly appointed by governors from the
four Northern Forest states—Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont and New York—and is supported by members
of the congressional delegation from across the region.
The project is funded by a grant from the federal
Economic Development Administration and private donors.
“I came to work at the Center because of its mission
to foster a strong and diverse economy, robust communities
and a healthy environment in the Northern Forest,”
said Riley. “These issues have always been important
to me and I feel a very strong connection to the
region. I’m looking forward to working with our partners
across the four states and beyond to create positive
change.”
Riley’s other professional experience is wide ranging
both in scope and geography. In New Hampshire, he
founded and served as executive director Main Street
Plymouth, Inc., which received New Hampshire’s “Main
Street Program of the Year Award” in 2000. He has
also developed youth programs at Sagebrush Arena
in Hailey, Idaho, worked in the ski industry in Ketchum,
Idaho, and farmed and logged in Andover, Vermont.
Riley received a Bachelor of Arts in American History
from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Deeply involved
in volunteer work, he was named to the New Hampshire
Union Leader’s “Forty Outstanding Leaders Under
40 in New Hampshire” list in 2003. When he’s not working
and volunteering, Riley loves exploring the outdoors
with his wife, Tabitha, and their children Alice and
William.
The Northern Forest Center is a
private, non-profit organization that mobilizes people
to build healthy communities, economies, and ecosystems
by working together across the Northern Forest region.
Visit www.northernforest.org for
more information.
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NOTE TO MEDIA: For a photo of Rob Riley, please
contact Shelly Angers, Marketing & PR Coordinator,
at 603-229-0679, ext. 109
For more information
about the Sustainable Economy Initiative, visit www.northernforest.org/economic-strategy.shtml.
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