WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Vital Communities Executive Director Sarah Jackson will leave her role leading the nonprofit organization that focuses on housing, transportation, food and climate change in April.
Jackson, of Randolph, has led the White River Junction-based nonprofit since 2020.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked with such outstanding Board, staff, and community members toward a stronger, more inclusive, and more resilient Upper Valley for today and for generations to come,” Jackson said in a news release.
Jackson oversees 14 staff members and a $1.7 million annual budget, according to the release.
She joined Vital Communities in October 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and worked to oversee Upper Valley Everyone Eats, “which provided more than 200,000 meals to Upper Valley residents while generating $2 million in income for local restaurants,” according to the release.
She also worked on other projects involving increasing access to early childhood education, connecting area farmers to new markets, and the Upper Valley Home Creators, which connects people interested in building accessory dwelling units with builders and financing options.
Jackson “has brought together community members, business and education leaders, nonprofit organizations, town officials, and others to address critical needs in our region,” Vital Communities’ board chair Greg Norman said in the release.
Her last day will be April 10, Rebecca Bailey, communications manager at Vital Communities, said in an email.
She plans to move to the Middle East where her husband, Robert Jackson, is working to reconstruct a traditional Arab sailboat — known as a “dhow” — in Abu Dhab, according to the release.
Vital Communities’ board of directors is in the process of a search for a new leader and has not yet named an interim director. There also isn’t yet a job listing for the executive director role.