Haines Economic Development Corporation executive director Sally Andersen resigned this month and the board hired Lee Hart to replace her.
Andersen stepped into the role nearly a year and a half ago after its former director, David Simmons, was killed in the 2020 Beach Road Landslide.
“She’s made some huge contributions to us so we’re really thankful,” board president Greg Schlacter said. “She did a phenomenal job picking up after David’s passing and really assisted the organization with a ton of effort in getting grants for us.”
Andersen said the uptick in tourism has forced her to dedicate more time to her family’s guiding business.
“I’ll return to full time work with our business, Arctic Wild,” Andersen said. “I’ve really enjoyed working within the community and the relationships developed in the course of the last 15 months.”
The board hired Hart this week. Hart has been employed by HEDC for the past 10 months.
“It’s a relatively easy transition in the sense she already played a crucial role in the different grants and programs we had going on,” Schlacter said.
Hart said she has worked in the outdoor recreation sector for 20 years, mostly as a public relations and marketing consultant. She also was a member of the Valdez Economic Diversification Commission and founded the Alaska Outdoor Alliance,
Hart said current projects include working on a housing survey in an effort to best address gaps, updating the HEDC website and beginning to update its 5-year economic development plan.
“We are entirely grant funded so the reality is, our directions must simply follow the grant money,” Hart said. “To that end, a few of HEDC’s top priorities include attracting resources to expand organizational capacity; continue building relationships with the borough and other allies in the region to work together on grants and other opportunities to re-ignite economic activity; and raising the profile of Haines as a great place to live, work and play year-round.”