WEST SPRINGFIELD – Former Executive Director of the Springfield Central Cultural District Morgan Drewniany is coming to work for the Town of West Springfield.

On Apr. 2, the Westfield native started her position as West Side’s newest Community Development Director, which falls under the umbrella of the Town’s Department of Planning and Development. The purpose of the position is to carry out activities in lower income neighborhoods that will help boost their potential, explained Drewniany.

The position’s responsibilities include the professional and administrative work of the Town’s Community Development Division (CDD).  The position serves as the resource for community development issues and helps direct the functions of the CDD. Drewniany’s duties will “vary widely,” while encompassing the various multifaceted activities of the CDD – such as focusing on Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) utilization and growing economic development within lower income areas of the Town.

Mayor William Reichelt encouraged Drewniany to apply for the position after they met through the Leadership Pioneer Valley last year.

“I’m really excited to work with Will, I think that’s one of the things I’m most excited for,” Drewniany said. “He is looking to make West Springfield this kind of innovative and creative town, and his approach to moving forward in the valley is kind of real 21st century.”

Drewniany attended Hampshire College, where she focused on the intersection of environmental chemistry, public health and social justice. She began her professional career as assistant director of the Springfield Business Improvement District and later moved into the world of arts and culture. As SCCD’s executive director, she was responsible for managing, marketing and directing programming for the organization.

Reminder Publications did a Question-and-Answer session with Drewniany to check in on how she is adjusting to her new role.  The following is an edited interview:

Reminder Publications: You just recently started as the new CDD, how has the transition been so far?

Morgan Drewniany: I’m still getting settled – the FY19 grants have been submitted for the year so I’ll be working on priorities that were set under the last director. But, for FY20 I’ll certainly be out and about and getting community input and talking to department heads. So, I think folks will start to see a little more activity come late summer and early fall.

RP: Do you think your previous work as the Executive Director of the Springfield Central Cultural District helped to prepare you for this new role?

MD: Oh, it absolutely prepared me! I think both my grant writing experience, as well as my experience working with a range of folks – from residents, to city officials, to heads of nonprofits in the area – are things to certainly bring to my new role. But as West Springfield’s CDD, it will give me the ability to focus on community development in a more concentrated way. At the District, I was responsible for everything from project management, to grant writing, to advocacy. This gives me the opportunity to be that boots-on-the-ground person focusing on one thing and I’m more than excited.

RP: What are some of the projects you’re currently working on as CDD?

MD: I’m working on the Housing Rehabilitation Program, which helps moderate and low-income folks throughout the city either improve their homes or improve properties for renters – which can be anything from helping people re-do their kitchens that have been outdated for years, to helping bring people up-to-code – to not only eliminate blight, but to also create a sense of pride in a place and put everyone on equal footing. There are also some social service programs funded through Community Development. There are some first-time-home-buyer classes, some English-as-a-second-language classes at the library, and others. It kind of spans a wide range of projects. We are also funding new sidewalks in areas to help increase the mobility of residents.

RP: For you, what is the most rewarding aspect of this job?

MD: I’m really excited to get to know the residents, but what’s really rewarding for me is seeing someone’s life immediately changed, and then their neighbors get to receive the benefit from that and their children and so on. This position can really change the course of someone’s life with something that really doesn’t cost that much money or time. I’m just very grateful that West Springfield has ability to do this type of work.

RP: In school you studied Environmental Chemistry, public health, and social justice. Do you feel like you are utilizing those studies in this field?

MD: It might not seem like a direct correlation there, but my passion through my time at the Springfield Cultural District, and now in this new position, is working with the community to help empower them – to pull themselves up and help themselves in a really authentic way. I’m not necessarily the one making that change, but I’m empowering them to make a change.

RP: What are you looking forward to most as West Side’s new CDD?

MD: I think I’m really looking forward to getting to know the residents and kind of digging into new and unconventional ways to spark economic development in those areas of interest that maybe haven’t been tried before.