Northern Forest Center appoints
Rob Riley as President
CONTACT:
Kelly Short, Communications
Director, Northern
Forest Center, 603-229-0679 ext 105; email:
CONCORD—The
Board of Directors has appointed Robert A. Riley, Jr.
to succeed Stephen D. Blackmer as president of the
Northern Forest Center, a regional non-profit organization
working to build a sustainable economy and revitalize
communities across northern Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont
and New York.
“Rob brings a terrific set of skills to help lead
the Center as we start our second decade of service
to the region,” said Board Chair Paul O. Bofinger.
“We’ve spent 10 years building the shared vision that
we need in order to address complex economic, community
and conservation issues. Now with Rob’s leadership,
we’ll be implementing new programs that can make lasting
improvements for the people and communities of the
Northern Forest.”
“I am honored by the Board’s faith in me and am excited
about the work ahead of us,” Riley said. “The Center
takes a unique approach, working regionally across
the four states to address community, economic and
conservation issues. We’re close to the completion
of an economic strategy for the region that is the
collective work of a steering committee appointed by
four governors. I look forward to working with our
many partners across the region to implement this innovative
strategy.”
Riley’s appointment is the result of a national search
that Bofinger said was very gratifying for the organization.
“The quality of the candidates was fantastic, and they
showed us that the Center has earned a great deal of
respect for its work across the region,” he said. That
respect is underscored by the recent decision of the
Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the New Hampshire
Charitable Foundation to award a major grant in support
of the Center’s programs.
Riley joined the Center in 2007 as director of programs.
Prior to the Center, he served as director of MicroCredit-NH,
an award-winning statewide community economic development
program. Before that Riley founded and served as executive
director of Main Street Plymouth, Inc., which received
New Hampshire’s “Main Street Program of the Year Award”
in 2000. His other professional experience is wide
ranging both in scope and geography: he’s been director
of Youth Programs at Sagebrush Arena in Hailey, Idaho,
and a farmer and logger in Andover, Vermont.
The New Hampshire Union Leader included Rob
in its 2003 list of “Forty Outstanding Leaders Under
40 in New Hampshire.” Riley lives in Canterbury, New
Hampshire, with his wife Tabitha and their two children,
Alice and William.
The Northern Forest Center is a non-profit organization
that mobilizes people to build healthy communities, economies,
and ecosystems by working together across the Northern
Forest region. Since it was founded in 1997, the Center’s
work has been funded by individuals, foundations, corporations
and government grants, including the New Hampshire Charitable
Foundation, Maine Community Foundation, Vermont Community
Foundation, Sudbury Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Public
Service of New Hampshire, Verizon, the National Endowment
for the Humanities and the Economic Development Administration
NOTE TO MEDIA: A photo of Rob Riley
is available for publication. Please contact Kelly
Short, Communications Director, at 603-229-0679, ext.
105.
with your request.
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