We're excited to welcome our new Executive Director, Laura Jacoby!
Laura is Old Spokes Home & Bike Recycle Vermont's first Executive Director. Our dedicated staff and board collaboratively managed our organization since we merged with Bike Recycle Vermont and became a non-profit in January 2015. The addition of a skilled and energized leader marks a new chapter for us, one in which we will be better able to achieve our mission: creating access to bikes and the opportunities they provide for our whole community.
A little bit about Laura:
Laura grew up in Underhill, Vermont and currently lives in South Hero with three generations of family. She has most recently led and supported non-governmental organizations (NGOs) founded by Syrians and Iraqis to respond to the crises in their countries, in part by stimulating private sector growth and creating employment opportunities. Before that, Laura managed relief and development programs for the International Rescue Committee and the Peace Corps in Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.
Laura lived in the Northeast Kingdom from 2006 and 2010 and directed Building Bright Future's Morrisville regional office and then the Newport Parent Child Center, where she oversaw the growth of social enterprises to support programming. She also developed a fondness for mountain biking in the Kingdom and is looking forward revisiting Vermont's trails.
Laura is excited to once again contribute to a nonprofit organization leveraging a business to achieve its social mission. She has enjoyed her first two weeks at the shop getting to know a professional and passionate team busy getting bikes under people in our community. Having seen the impact of humanitarian crises fueled by conflicts over finite resources, she is grateful for the opportunity to be part of a local effort to distribute a valuable resource -- bikes -- in an equitable way as a means of increasing the health of our community, economy, and environment.
Laura looks forward to working with the board, staff volunteers, and supporters of Old Spokes Home & Bike Recycle Vermont to expand programming, solidify the social enterprise model, and build community recognition and support. If you run into her in one of the shops or around town, please introduce yourself!