For those who haven’t heard, the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission is celebrating 60 years of regional collaboration this month! As always, MVPC is grateful for the expertise and dedication of all our staff members, member communities and regional partnerships to make our programs successful. This month, however, we want to highlight some of the vital, long-standing staff that have been invaluable during their years here.

Last week we featured MVPC’s Tony Komornick from our transportation program where he discussed how 36 years of planning and collaborating impacts communities. Our next member is Jenifer Dunlap, MVPC’s finance administrator and an integral part of maximizing MVPC’s ability to participate in a variety of regional initiatives. Throughout Jen’s 24 years at the agency, she’s maintained that drawing on people’s adaptability, creativity and collaboration across communities, programs, and backgrounds are part of what makes MVPC an innovative advocate for the region.

We wanted to know more about why Jen chose MVPC and what has kept her here, which gave us insight into the heart of MVPC’s mission:

“It is my love of numbers and my analytical mind that drove me to seek a career in accounting and in a roundabout way led me to this job 24 years ago; however, it is the people I work with every day – from the staff to the Commissioners and the agencies and communities we serve that has made working at MVPC for all these years so enjoyable and rewarding”.

As we look back to plan ahead, we asked Jen what she’s hoping for in the next 20 years to inform how we are going to adapt to a changing world:

“What I am most proud of and what I hope does not change in the next 20 years is MVPC’s willingness to be flexible and innovative to meet the needs of its staff and communities. With the limited resources in a small agency like ours, collaborating to find creative solutions to changing problems is often the only way to keep moving forward.”

One thing is certain, our region’s people and the collaboration among MVPC staff, partners and communities are pivotal to the successful implementation of our regional initiatives. Thank you, Jen, for your commitment to the people, resources, and partners of the Merrimack Valley. Thank you to our member communities and partners for your continued support in our mission as well. Here’s to the next 60 years!

Finance Administrator Jen Dunlap