Camden Rotary Club to Host Talk on Workforce Housing Solutions on June 22

Posted June 14, 2021

Camden Rotary Club will host Island Housing Trust (IHT) Executive Director Marla O'Byrne at noon Tuesday, June 22.

O'Byrne will explain how IHT promotes viable, year-round communities by advancing permanent workforce housing on Mount Desert Island. The organization establishes partnerships that create rental and homeownership opportunities, enabling the year-round workforce to live in MDI's four communities. She will explain IHT's organizational structure and the processes that have helped it succeed during the past 30 years.

A founding board member of IHT, O'Byrne has also served as the president & CEO of Friends of Acadia, senior vice president at Maine Farmland Trust, and member of the MDI Tomorrow Steering Committee.

O'Byrne's talk is the tenth in a series the club is hosting on local economic and workforce development challenges.

'We have been learning about many aspects of economic and workforce development, from career education and broadband access to year-round childcare and attainable housing,' said Camden Rotary President-Elect Jonathan Goss. 'Given the potential for a housing trust to benefit the Midcoast, we feel we have a lot to gain from IHT's experience.'

The club's website at www.camdenrotary.org includes recordings of all the talks in this series. Anyone who would like to attend a club meeting can obtain connection details from Stephanie Griffin: [email protected].