Kelly Jensen will serve on Boards of ROC USA® and ROC Association
CONCORD, N.H. – A ROC leader from Colorado has been elected to represent the interests of her peers nationwide as a Director of the ROC Association and ROC USA®.
Kelly Jensen, Board President at Paradise Village Cooperative in Johnstown, Colo., was voted to represent the Mountain West Region of the ROC Association Board of Directors. She will succeed John Egan, past president at Animas View Cooperative in Durango, Colo.
“I feel honored to be part of this group,” said Jensen. “I want to help people and I want more people to know about what is being done. Everyone is working toward the same goal, and this feels like a good fit.”
She said she is excited to help spread the word about Opportunity to Purchase legislation in the western United States as well advocate for owners of manufactured homes to be able to get a home equity line of credit on their homes like site-built homeowners can to help with upkeep.
“Kelly attended our meeting in Denver in mid-November and it was a great opportunity to visit with her,” Egan said. “My first take-away with Kelly was both her dedication to ROC USA’s mission and her seeming inexhaustible energy. I knew that if she won, she would be a real asset for the ROC Association and our Mountain West region. I’m feeling very encouraged knowing Kelly is our new director and optimistic about the work all of us at the ROC Association are doing. I think we have a bright future.”
ROC Association Board Chair Marjory Gilsrud agreed. She and the Association’s New England Region Director, Deborah Winiewicz, past President at Halifax Estates in Halifax, Mass., thanked the candidates and those who helped throughout the election process.
“I spoke with Kelly and she’s very knowledgeable. A really great team player. I look forward to working with her,” said Gilsrud, who also serves as Board President at Madelia Mobile Village Cooperative. “The election went so smoothly and it was great to see interest in both running for the seat and in voting.”
Jensen ran alongside, Susan Holli, Board Vice President at The Woods Cooperative Association in Little River, Calif. Holli said she is very excited for Jensen and the two have learned a lot from each other over the course of the election.
“I am truly excited that Kelly will now be part of the ROC Association Board,” Holli said. “She has a lot to offer. Any time ROC Members have the interest in sharing their talents and are given the opportunity to serve, we, as an association are better off, or might I say blessed.”
Egan said this election was special because both candidates were great choices. Holli said she will remain active in the ROC Association
ROC Association was started by two community leaders who had been appointees to the ROC USA Board of Directors. They saw the potential of a large national network of local communities if they were to formalize an organization and develop an election process for ROCs across the country.
Membership is free to all 316 ROCs that are or once were under contract with a ROC USA Certified Technical Assistance Provider. Directors are elected from each of three regions and also serve on the 15-Member ROC USA Board.
“I know there is a ton to learn, and I will do my very best to represent the people in the western part of the country,” Jensen said. “Anytime I have met anyone involved with this work, it feels like meeting friends and neighbors. It’s such a good, good feeling and I’m so excited.”
Jensen will officially take office at the first Board of Directors meeting in 2024.