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Collier will leave the NBUW in mid-March.

NBUW Executive Director Takes New Position

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Northern Berkshire United Way Executive Director Christa Collier will leave her post and take a position with the Massachusetts Children's Alliance.
 
Collier took to social media Wednesday to announce that she accepted a position with Massachusetts Children's Alliance (MACA) as the Director of Training, Education and Special Initiatives after nearly six years as the Northern Berkshire United Way (NBUW) executive director.  
 
"The past six years, it has been an honor to serve the community where I was born, raised and where we raised our son (now in college)," she wrote. "I have met new people, made new friends, all while learning about the realities our community members and organizations face each day." 
 
Collier will leave the NBUW in mid-March. 
 
The NBUW Board of Directors announced the appointment of Duffy Judge as Interim Executive Director.
 
"We're excited to work with Duffy," said Leah Thompson, board president. "We are thankful to Christa for all of the good work she has accomplished here in the past 5+ years and we wish her all the best."
 
Judge comes to NBUW from Berkshire United Way in Pittsfield where he has served as Development Manager since July 2017. 
 
"It has been a wonderful experience at Berkshire United Way, but I yearn to serve the community in which I have raised a family, Northern Berkshire," Judge said. "This opportunity would allow me to have a direct impact on people I interact with every day and that would be the absolute ideal for me."
 
NBUW named Collier executive director in 2016. Prior to her appointment, she served as the executive director of the Kids Place and Violence Prevention Center in Pittsfield.
 
“I’m tremendously proud of everything that Northern Berkshire United Way has accomplished during the past six years,” Collier said. 
 
These accomplishments include initiatives such as Operation Warm and the Born Learning Trail and facilitating the Northern Berkshire Housing and Homelessness Collaborative. 
 
“I am confident that the organization is in good hands and will continue its transformational work,” Collier said.
 
MACA, an organization that helps victims of child abuse,  is an accredited state chapter of the National Children's Alliance (NCA) and membership organization of the 12 Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs) in Massachusetts. 
 
"I am looking forward to the opportunity to return to the child advocacy field and to collaborate with a community of colleagues I admire," she wrote. "In my new role I will serve as the Director of Training, Education and Special Initiatives."
 
Collier indicated that she still plans to serve on some local committees and boards. She is also open to volunteer opportunities.
 
The Board plans to announce a search for a permanent Executive Director in the coming months.
 

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Affordable Housing Solutions Easy — and Complex

By John TownesSpecial to iBerkshires
This four-part series looks at the challenges in building affordable housing, and in May, Deep Dive will look at some solutions in Berkshire County. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
 
The overall effort to solve the national and local housing crisis is paradoxically as straightforward as a game of checkers, but as complex and baffling as a Rubik's Cube puzzle.
 
On a basic level, the issue is clear. It boils down to two fundamental problems: There is a shortage of housing in all categories and the costs of buying or renting a home have escalated beyond the incomes of many people.
 
But because there is no single cause or "silver bullet" solution, the array of initiatives to make housing more plentiful and affordable can seem like a baffling maze of agencies, priorities, policies, regulations, and complex mathematical formulas.
 
The issue can also cause controversies and misunderstandings.
 
And for those who are seeking to buy or rent a home, the shortage of affordable housing can be personally frustrating, confusing, and even frightening. For some, it can lead to homelessness.
 
Nevertheless, while individual affordable-housing policies and programs differ in specifics, most rely on a core of basic strategies to deal with the underlying causes.
 
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