North Adams Partnership Relaunches Under New Leadership

NORTH ADAMS — The North Adams Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering transformative downtown development and addressing housing and economic-development needs, recently announced its relaunch under new leadership.

Founded in 2010 by a cohort of civic and community leaders, the North Adams Partnership’s mission is to “enhance the economy of the city of North Adams and establish and maintain the city’s position as a small city center of commerce, culture, education, and innovation.”

After several years of post-COVID dormancy, the partnership appointed Jenny Wright, former director of Strategic Communications and Advancement at MASS MoCA and a member of the museum’s placemaking task force, as executive director, bringing a renewed focus and energy to the organization’s mission. The effort was made possible with support from Jack Wadsworth, a longtime investor in North Adams who developed the Porches Inn.

The newly constituted board of trustees includes local developer David Moresi (chair); Laurie Lamarre, systems vice president and chief operating officer of North Adams Regional Hospital (treasurer); 1Berkshire Vice President of Economic Development Ben Lamb (clerk); Amber Besaw, executive director of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition; Blair Benjamin, director of MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists; and Berkshire hospitality-sector leader Colleen Taylor.

“I am excited to step into this role at such a pivotal moment for North Adams,” Wright said. “By bringing together local and regional partners — including an incredible board composed of the people behind many of the city’s most recent success stories — the North Adams Partnership can create the capacity to help identify, fund, and implement transformative housing and economic-development initiatives, using the Vision 2030 Plan as our guide.

“The Route 2 overpass study, the Hoosic River flood chute feasibility study, the North Adams Adventure Trail, and the recent passage of the Massachusetts Affordable Homes Act are just a few of the major efforts currently underway,” she added. “With strong partnerships with Mayor [Jennifer] Macksey and her staff at City Hall, as well as with MASS MoCA, MCLA, BRPC, North Adams Regional Hospital, NBCC, local businesses, and community members, we have everything we need to work together to create a vibrant, inclusive North Adams that has something for everyone.”