Published: 9/16/2022 7:30:36 PM
Modified: 9/16/2022 7:26:43 PM
NORTHAMPTON — The City Council confirmed Carolyn Misch as director of the Office of Planning and Sustainability on Thursday, elevating her from the interim director role to replace longtime department leader Wayne Feiden.
Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra appointed Misch in July, when Feiden announced his retirement after 25 years of service, and the confirmation won the council’s unanimous support.
Before the vote, Sciarra lauded the new director’s “remarkable qualifications, experience, and her dedication to Northampton.”
Misch, a 22-year employee of the city, was the unanimous and “enthusiastic” choice of a screening committee that conducted a national search, according to Sciarra. Hired as Feiden’s second-in-command in 2020, she previously served as Northampton’s senior planner and permits manager, and worked as a planner for two cities in North Carolina and the state of Colorado.
Sciarra said that Misch’s “vision, plans for community engagement, commitment to sustainability and climate change resilience,” and creative thinking about how to increase the availability of affordable housing are “as important” as her knowledge and experience.
Misch holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Rochester in New York, and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Colorado, Denver, with a concentration in economic development.
“I am grateful to work with such a fine, thoughtful person who cares so deeply about her community and our larger world,” Sciarra said, “and has dedicated her career to making it better, safer, greener and more accessible for all.”
Ward 1 Councilor Stanley Moulton said it is “sound management practice, when we have a strong internal candidate … to promote from within.” He added that the strong support for Misch’s appointment was “no surprise.”
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.
