NORTH KINGSTOWN – After leading the local Chamber of Commerce for nearly a decade as its executive director and spearheading multiple workforce development initiatives for the state's nascent offshore wind industry, Kristin Urbach is now heading west of the Rhode Island border.
The Connecticut Wind Collaborative, a Groton, Conn.-based nonprofit formed to help advance the growing demand for workers and supply chain needs within offshore wind, announced Tuesday that Urbach has been named its inaugural executive director.
“I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to harness the power of collaboration, innovation and sustainable energy solutions to propel Connecticut and the region toward a brighter, greener future,” Urbach said in a statement. “I am eager to work alongside our dedicated team and partners, leveraging our collective expertise to drive meaningful progress and establish Connecticut as a cornerstone of the offshore wind industry.”
After becoming the North Kingstown Chamber’s top executive, Urbach’s understanding of offshore wind led her to establish WindWin RI, the nation’s only high school certificate program in offshore wind energy, seven years ago. Urbach
last year told Providence Business News that there would potentially be a lot of jobs within the pipeline for offshore wind and she applied for a Real Jobs RI grant to support the initiative.
Since then, Urbach told PBN about 32 students received their certificates since WindWin RI started, with dozens more still moving through the four-year program.
Paul Lavoie, Connecticut’s chief manufacturing officer and the collaborative’s inaugural board chairman, said in a statement that Urbach’s wealth of knowledge in offshore wind energy allows her to “immediately begin coalescing the region’s skilled workforce and advanced tech manufacturers into a unified cluster in support of this new American industry.”
Before leading the Chamber, Urbach served as director of product marketing and new business development for Tunstall Americas in Pawtucket for close to two years. Urbach was also
a 2020 PBN Business Women Awards honoree.
It was not immediately clear on Tuesday who is leading the Chamber. A Chamber representative declined PBN’s request for comment.
The Chamber
has posted the executive director job opening on its website, seeking someone with at least five years of management and executive level experience “in a business-related field or leadership position.” A salary range was not posted.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
