Bangor, Maine (March 11, 2022) – Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bangor is pleased to announce Melissa Huston as our new executive director. “I have always admired the Habitat for Humanity organization and I’m thrilled for this opportunity to play an active role in its future. Affordable housing is an increasingly urgent challenge across the country and Maine is no exception. It is exciting to be a part of the unique solutions Habitat offers.”
Melissa’s been an active member of our Bangor region for more than three decades. Her experience in resource development, fundraising, community engagement, and strategic planning are exactly what we need to expand our capacity to help more people build a future.
Huston has been employed by several local non-profits including Community Health and Counseling, Maine Adoption Placement Service, and St. Joseph Healthcare. For the past ten years, Melissa worked for the statewide hunger-relief organization, Good Shepherd Food Bank where she held evolving positions on its development team. As a major gift officer, she played a lead role in the successful $5M capital campaign for the Food Bank's newly built distribution center in Hampden.
Board chair, Jacob Baker says, “Melissa has a strong understanding of the challenges that families face when their foundational needs go unmet. We are thrilled to have her compassion and experience on our team at Habitat Bangor.”
Huston’s appreciation for building relationships and working towards a common goal of helping those who need a hand up is palpable. She is already meeting with our community partners to see how we can collectively continue to live out our mission and support one another - ensuring that the organization is poised to meet the current and future needs of Habitat homeowners.
Developing innovative partnerships like our current collaboration with Eastern Maine Community College is one of Huston’s first priorities. A modular home is currently under construction on the EMCC campus that will be moved to a house site in Hampden this summer. Melissa is enjoying getting to know our next homeowner family who is contributing their sweat equity and have qualified for an affordable mortgage to start living out their dream.
Another priority is to increase awareness and donations to our ReStore located at 378 Harlow Street in Bangor. Revenue generated through the store helps pay for future homes.
Melissa can be reached at melissa@habitatbangor.org or (207) 942-8977.