Community Action Pioneer Valley Executive Director Clare Higgins to Retire

GREENFIELD — Clare Higgins will retire in the summer of 2025 after nearly 14 years as executive director of Community Action Pioneer Valley (CAPV).

Higgins assumed directorship of CAPV, the region’s federally designated anti-poverty agency, in September 2011 after serving six terms as mayor of Northampton. She came to CAPV with not only her history in municipal government, but experience as a childcare teacher, director of a childcare center, and childcare advocate, collaborating with legislators to meet the needs of children and families. Heading the agency that runs and administers Head Start & Early Learning Programs for the region felt both like a natural next step.

Higgins’s first job with a Community Action agency was as a teacher in a preschool classroom; from there, she became a staff representative for a daycare and human-services union. After that, she was the childcare teacher director for Sojourn Inc., a teen parent childcare program. There, she got her first major taste of budget management and grant and proposal writing.

“Clare is an incredible communicator,” said Charity Day, CAPV board president. “She has the ability to put big, systemic problems into concrete terms and help our elected officials understand what their financially vulnerable constituents face, and what they need. She has a deep understanding of how poverty affects a community and what is required to make change.”

State Sen. Jo Comerford added that “Clare has long been my teacher and continues to set an example to me of life well-lived. News of her retirement is nothing short of seismic. Her service at Community Action, as well as regionally and statewide, has been exemplary. As Clare passes the torch, I extend my heartfelt gratitude, and gratitude on behalf of my entire team, for her leadership and work on behalf of our constituents and the entire Commonwealth.”

During Higgins’s time as executive director, Community Action Pioneer Valley has expanded its offerings to the community. In addition to its information and referral phone line, Head Start services, food pantries, Home Energy Assistance Program, and WIC, CAPV houses RSVP, a volunteer program for seniors; weatherization and other home-modification services; and the Three County Continuum of Care, which works at a systems level to end homelessness, as well as increased services for youth, young adults and young parents, and families. Today, CAPV offers nearly 40 different programs to support individuals and families across Franklin and Hampshire counties. In 2023, the agency served more than 28,000 people in the Pioneer Valley.

During her tenure, Higgins has seen CAPV through a recession and recovery, a global pandemic, and the current housing crisis. Throughout these challenges, she has kept the needs of CAPV’s clients and staff at the center of decision making.

“Clare finds real joy in connecting with people and problem solving, whether they’re a preschool student or a member of Congress,” said Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and former Community Action staff member. “I think her greatest gift to CAPV has been her ability to communicate the realities of poverty to people who’ve never experienced it, and to help our legislators and community partners to understand both the harshness of the situation and the good they can do when they partner with us to address economic injustice.”