Maya McFadden file photo
Brent Peterkin.
Two years after stepping into the role of executive director at Gather New Haven, Brent Peterkin has resigned — leaving the organization to continue his work of diversifying and growing local environmental engagement and preservation.
Gather New Haven — the merged, nonprofit entity of New Haven Land Trust and New Haven Farms — announced the departure of their first executive director, Brent Peterkin, in their latest newsletter on Nov. 30. The newsletter also celebrated Peterkin’s contributions and laid out some of the organization’s future plans.
Since taking on that first-of-a-kind top role in 2020, Peterkin, who was not available for comment for this story, launched the first annual Gather New Haven Festival which brought community out to Goffe Street Park for yoga, fresh produce, and starter plants for home gardens. He brought residents into local parks to look for fowl during Black Birders’ Week in another slate of efforts to, as the newsletter put it, “connect underrepresented groups to the outdoors.” The organization also acknowledged Peterkin’s work to begin diversifying Gather New Haven’s team and board and achieve grants to support the organization’s work in entrepreneurship and environmental education.
Gather New Haven Board President Tyra Pendergrass Boomer stated: “We appreciate Brent’s efforts over the last two and a half years to consolidate our merger, expand our efforts to engage the diverse communities that are the fabric of New Haven, and articulate a vision for Gather New Haven as we endeavor to build connections to nature across our unique programs to enhance community health, wellness, and opportunity. We wish him all the best in his next chapter.”
The Board of Directors said that as they plan to search for the next executive director, they are also looking towards how to grow community engagement this coming new year. They said they plan to achieve that by developing their Growing Entrepreneurs youth leadership development program, introducing their new Eco-Entrepreneurship Creative Lab in partnership with Next Haven, which will provide funding for urban youth to design products and services that support energy conservation, climate protection and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
“The board is putting in place interim management while we plan a search for our next Executive Director,” the Nov. 30 newsletter reads. “As we formulate our search process, individuals who might have an interest in the position should forward their expression of interest to [email protected].”
What a huge loss for the organization. I have personally met Brent and heard him speak at some events. His enthusiasm, creativity, work ethic and poise brought a much needed breath of fresh air to this space. Hope they continue on the path of diversification. Wish him all the best.