NEWS

The Board of Directors of the Davidson Housing Coalition (DHC) is proud to announce that Connie J. Wessner has accepted the position of Executive Director of the organization.

Said Margaret Martens, Chair of the DHC Board, “Connie is a well-known and highly regarded member of the Davidson community. She has served our citizens in many capacities – as a board member of DHC in its earliest days, as an elected commissioner of the Town of Davidson, and most recently as a K12 administrator at Community School of Davidson. She brings a wealth of experience in town and an understanding of affordable housing that is extraordinary. We are so lucky that she will lead us into 2023 and beyond. With Connie as our Executive Director, we all feel that the organization’s future is bright.”

Wessner graduated from Franklin and Marshall College and went on to receive a master’s degree in Public Policy and Politics from Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, where she was a Harold Martin Fellow. After receiving her degrees, she worked for the Massachusetts Department of Public Welfare, as a senior budget analyst and a manager for maternal and child health programs. When she moved to Washington DC, she was a senior researcher focusing on state Medicaid and indigent care programs at George Washington University’s Intergovernmental Health Policy Project, subsequently becoming the group’s Assistant Director for Communications.

Wessner moved with her husband David Wessner to Davidson in the summer of 1998, when he joined the faculty at Davidson College. In addition to her elected service to the Town, she has served on a range of nonprofit boards and organizations, including the Davidson Housing Coalition. She chaired the Board at Ada Jenkins and more recently the Pedestrian Safety Task Force. Wessner currently serves as a Board member for the Davidson Farmer’s Market and World of Wonder and as a member of the Davidson Learns Curriculum Development Team and the Town’s Vision Zero Task Force.

During her 13-year tenure at the Community School of Davidson (CSD), Wessner served as a K12 administrator working directly with students and faculty and carrying responsibilities for whole school operations and finance, service learning, instructional technology, high school internships, and independent studies. She retired from her position at the school at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year.

“I walked away from the leadership transition we’d planned at CSD, thinking that I probably wasn’t finished with my work life, but also assuming I’d spend a year or so taking a break and considering what might be next,” said Wessner. “I wouldn’t have predicted stepping into this role then, but I am really so delighted at the opportunity to serve an organization whose mission I’ve supported for 25 years.”

John Woods, treasurer of the DHC Board, said, “Connie Wessner is an amazing fit for our organization. Her leadership, experience, and education will be a gift to us. We are excited to begin this new chapter with her.”