Governor-elect Peter Shumlin appointed Noelle MacKay (pictured) Commissioner of the Department of Economic, Housing and Community Affairs.
MacKay has been Executive Director of Smart Growth Vermont in Burlington for the past five years. The non-profit organization works to understand the factors changing Vermont, and develop creative land use and development policies.
Before that MacKay was Deputy Director of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association in New Jersey; and she directed the New Jersey Project for Municipal Excellence, which built partnerships among municipal officials and environmental advocates to improve the protection of water and related ecological resources.
Jennifer Hollar, a member of the Government and Public Affairs Group at Downs, Rachlin, Martin PLLC, will be Deputy Commissioner.
Hollar's experience in housing and community development spans 25 years and includes service at the state, local and federal levels. She's worked at the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and a municipal development organization in Washington, D.C.
"I am tremendously excited that we have been able to bring together a team with such diverse backgrounds and common interests to meet the challenges we face,” Shumlin said in a press release. “Our mission is to support economic development, while preserving Vermont's heritage, promoting vibrant communities, and creating housing that is affordable for low and moderate income Vermonters.
"Noelle Mackay and Jennifer Hollar each bring a deep personal commitment to improving the lives of Vermonters. I thank them both for being willing to serve the state in this way.”
Economic, Housing and Community Affairs is part of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Lawrence Miller was appointed Secretary of the Agency on Nov. 22. Patricia Moulton-Powden will become the Agency's new Deputy Secretary.