WHATELY — A Northampton native has been tapped as the town’s new community development administrator.

The Select Board approved hiring Sylvie Jensen late last month to fill the role vacated by Hannah Davis. The position is responsible for fostering economic development in Whately by pursuing grants and working with the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals to review bylaws.

Jensen stepped into the role as the new fiscal year began. She said she’s excited to get to work in a town with so many dedicated volunteers.

“I feel like we have a lot of people who are really engaged,” she said. “It’s a cool place to be doing some interesting projects and bringing in funds directed by the people you live and work with.”

A Columbia University graduate who started her studies at Greenfield Community College, Jensen has a background in legal practice assistance with New York-based Earthjustice, an environmental advocacy group. She also spent time working in the behavioral health unit at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

With an interest in public and nonprofit work, Jensen said she was intrigued by Whately’s job posting and figured it’d be an “exciting place” for the next step in her career. She said writing is one of her passions and tying that into grant writing is an aspect of the job that reeled her in.

“I thought local government was a sort of intriguing and exciting place to be. I like being involved in my community,” Jensen said. “I want to be responsive to what is important to our townspeople.”

As she gets her bearings in the new role, Jensen said one of her priorities will be balancing the town’s economic development with the protection of its natural spaces.

“Environmental concerns loom large in my mind and that’s something I’d love to see us prioritize as we move forward,” Jensen said, adding that it’s important that the town focus on development and protection of natural areas because “both of those components will contribute to our quality of life here.”

Examples of work undertaken by her predecessor include the town partnering with the Conway School of Landscape Design to create a climate resilience plan and analyze the Exit 35 neighborhood, working to secure grant funding for a solar array on the Town Offices and partnering with the Hitchcock Center for the Environment to provide lessons to Whately Elementary School students on sustainability.

Jensen said the main challenge of getting projects like these going is the town’s limited funding — which is why grants are necessary — and convincing residents to spend their valuable free time working with town officials.

“With anything, it’s just a matter of patience because all of these projects take time,” Jensen explained. “We have a lot of different stuff going on. … I think we just have to pace ourselves.”

One of the first major projects Jensen will get to work on is the development of Whately’s new Master Plan, which is set to be revamped in the coming years.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.]]>