EASTHAMPTON — Big changes are coming to Easthampton nonprofit, the Treehouse Foundation, as founder and longtime leader Judy Cockerton steps away to explore a new chapter. As Treehouse sets its sights on expansion across the state, Cockerton is working on an entirely new project with a similar mission.

Since its inception more than 22 years ago, Cockerton has led the Treehouse Foundation in its mission to improve the lives of children and young people who have experienced foster care by spearheading national advocacy through the ReEnvisioning Foster Care movement and an intergenerational living model exemplified by the Treehouse Community in Easthampton.

“We’ve been moving across the state and building the infrastructure we need to be a state organization and a national organization,” said Cockerton. “I felt that I could pass the baton and move onto something new … Treehouse is in a really good place.”

Treehouse has been preparing for Cockerton’s departure for some time, expanding board leadership and infrastructure and tapping Erika Kuester, the foundation’s chief operating officer, as interim CEO for the next 18 months as they search for a new CEO and continue with plans for expansion.

Most imminently, Treehouse has plans to bring its intergenerational housing model to Boston as part of the new Olmsted Village development, which includes affordable housing for older adults as well as affordable home-buying opportunities.

“Treehouse is Judy’s brainchild… her impact on the trajectory of the organization has been unquantifiable,” said Kuester. “Our expansion strategy is really coming to fruition at this point… it’s always been a long-term goal.”

Treehouse’s portion of the community is set to include 12 family apartments, eight studio apartments for youth transitioning out of foster care, and 46 apartments for older adults. According to Kuester, the Boston site will likely open in late 2027 or early 2028, and the Foundation also has a goal of having six sites in the pipeline by 2030.

Expansion like this has not only long been a goal of the Foundation, it even ties into its very name.

“I wanted a name that helped people gain a new perspective. When you climb up into a treehouse, you gain a new perspective,” said Cockerton. She added that she has spent a lot of time “up in a treehouse,” looking across the state and the country for opportunities to help those in need. Recently, her search for new perspectives brought to her attention an initiative called 100% New Mexico that offers new ways to approach the work she continues to be passionate about.

“They’re trying to make it possible, community by community in New Mexico, to prevent children from going into childhood welfare,” said Cockerton. Now she is turning her focus to “taking that model and really bringing it to the commonwealth ... adding a bit more to what the commonwealth can offer children and families.”

The organization works to secure ten vital services for counties in New Mexico in order to support children and families by making sure each service sector is working in tandem to promote “100% thriving families,” according to its website. They seek to provide access to food, housing, medical and dental care, behavioral health care, transportation, job training, youth mentorship, educational opportunities and parental support to promote healthier communities.

Now, Cockerton’s goal is to start a new nonprofit, 100% Massachusetts, to bring such initiatives to the commonwealth and combine them with her models for intergenerational living and lived-experience leadership.

Starting a new organization virtually from scratch is no small task, but Cockerton is excited about the opportunity. She plans to form a new leadership board to advise 100% Massachusetts’s operations, and conduct research between Massachusetts and the communities that 100% New Mexico serves to see what can be transferred to the commonwealth to yield the most positive impact.

Though Cockerton is departing from her role at the core of the Treehouse Foundation, she said she plans to continue advocating for their work as both she and the organization embark on these new chapters.

“From my new role as CEO of 100% Massachusetts, I will be cheering Treehouse on,” said Cockerton. “New leadership is always good, especially when someone has been serving for 22 years.”

“I have so much more to give, and I hope to give it to 100% Massachusetts,” she added.