United Way of Northwest Vermont announces new CEO

The director of Burlington's Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Department will leave his post next month to become the new CEO of the United Way of Northwest Vermont, the nonprofit announced Wednesday.

Jesse Bridges will assume the permanent leadership post May 30 after the lengthy tenure of Martha Maksym, who left this winter to join the administration of first-term Republican Gov. Phil Scott. Interim Executive Director Molly Lambert has led the organization since January.

Bridges, 36, of Burlington said he was "extremely grateful" for his appointment.

"I feel really excited, honored and feel like it's just a great future ahead of us," Bridges told the Burlington Free Press.

He said his first priority will be to get to know the staff and learn about "what they're seeing and working on," and to spend time with key community partners.

"It's really kind of a listening time, understanding things that are happening."

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The top goals for the United Way are reducing substance abuse, promoting mental health, advancing employment, supporting families and meeting basic needs such as housing, food security, transportation and health care. The nonprofit arrived at those priorities earlier this year after community discussions across Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties.

Tammy Johnson, president of the United Way's board and chairwoman of the executive search committee, said in a statement the timing of Bridges' appointment makes sense following the 2016 merger of separate United Way organizations in Chittenden and Franklin-Grand Isle counties.

"He brings to this position such positive energy and passion for the community, strong views about cultivating greater understanding of our work in the northwest Vermont region and innovative ideas for new fundraising models," said Johnson, who also is advertising director at the Burlington Free Press.

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger named Bridges as leader of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront in 2012. Before that, he had worked for more than 10 years at the University of Vermont, first as assistant athletics director and then as associate director of major gifts for the UVM Foundation and director of the Victory Club.

Bridges will remain in his current position with the city until the end of May.

“Jesse’s tenure as the Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Director will be remembered as a time of innovation, collaboration, and progress on social issues,” Weinberger said in a statement Wednesday.

The mayor cited as Bridges' major accomplishments "an historic expansion of the parks system and landmark renewal of the bike path," along with sharpening the department's focus on equity and generating new revenue that decreased the department's reliance on city general-fund dollars. Weinberger said Burlington will miss Bridges' "energy and passion" but added the city is excited to see a department head take on leadership of a "critical community partner."

"I look forward to an even stronger relationship with the United Way of Northwest Vermont as together we tackle the opioid challenge, homelessness, early learning and other major social challenges," Weinberger added.

Katie Vane, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said Thursday that Weinberger intends to announce his plans in the coming weeks for hiring a replacement for Bridges.

Bridges said his departure will be bittersweet, but he believes he's leaving the department in sound financial shape and with an exceptional staff in place.

"As great as this opportunity is, it was a hard decision," he said. "I am really grateful to Mayor Weinberger and to the team and the city and the administration — it's been nothing but support. We've done some great things with our department. It's a department, like the United Way, that has a lot of impact on the community."

He added: "It's very hard to leave, but ultimately this is a great opportunity to expand the social community work that I find so rewarding."

Bridges, who with his wife, Megan, has two daughters, ages 9 and 5 (almost 6, he noted), said he's glad the new job allows him to stay in town. "I'll certainly be here cheering on the staff and enjoying all the amenities the city has to offer with my family," he said. "I promised my 9-year-old that she still gets to go to Leddy and take skating lessons."

Maksym, who had worked at the United Way since 1994, joined the Scott administration as deputy secretary of the Agency of Human Services.

Contact Adam Silverman at 802-660-1854 or asilverman@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @wej12.