Katie Moritz joins the NEK Collaborative
The Northeast Kingdom Collaborative is excited to announce that writer and local NEK community member Katie Moritz has joined the team.
Moritz has over a decade of experience in writing and communication. Prior to her position as the Communication Liaison at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, she served as an editor of a weekly newspaper, a manager of an assisted living facility, and an educator for at-risk youth at a charter school and first-generation students at Dartmouth College. While pursuing a master’s degree in writing and literature at Dartmouth, she founded the graduate journal, Clamantis, and in turn served as editor-in-chief.
“This position will allow me to support so many initiatives across the Kingdom,” Moritz said. “And because of my relationship-building and communication experience at NVRH, I know that connecting the right people plays a huge role in how a community thrives.”
The NEK Collaborative is an independent and non-partisan collaborative that bridges local, regional and statewide actors. It also connects local people, projects and partners to critical capital, coaching and the connections they need to be successful.
Moritz is taking over the Project Assistant position from Thorolf van Walsum, who started in the position as an Americorps VISTA volunteer in 2021. Van Walsum, who has spent time in Vermont and who has also traveled extensively, currently lives in Czechia and will be starting a PhD program in Evolutionary Biology in the Evolutionary & Theoretical Biology department of Charles University in Prague.
“The course of my own career has taken me out of Vermont, and this position needs someone working close to the community,” van Walsum said. “Katie Moritz has the know-how, the drive, and the commitment to the Kingdom to see to it that the Kingdom gets the regionally-minded attention that it needs now more than ever.”
The mission of the Collaborative is to improve the quality of life for all residents of the NEK through coordinated economic and community development. The vision is a strong, vibrant Northeast Kingdom where all can thrive.
“I just love how the Collaborative brings people together across politics, class, sectors, and geographic boundaries to tackle challenges and articulate clear visions for the region,” NEK Collaborative Executive Director Jennifer Carlo said. “Based on these conversations, the Collaborative then makes a plan, sets it in motion and then assesses the results.”
Moritz grew up in the NEK, and although she has lived elsewhere, she is glad to be back in Barnet. It is here – on the same land she explored as a teenage – that she and her husband are raising their four-year-old son.
“I care deeply about community and believes that all people deserve real, tangible opportunities to be safe, heard, and healthy,” Moritz added. “I also believe this is possible when we work together, show up authentically, and honor the stories we tell others and ourselves.”
Moritz’s work with the Collaborative will involve building and distributing the monthly newsletter, ensuring online resources are up-to-date and assisting with a variety of other communication and community-focused projects. She is also published poet, nonfiction author, and full-time writer. Her fiction work has been nominated for a prestigious Pushcart Prize.
“Katie has a lot to offer the Collaborative,” Carlo added. “We are thrilled to have her join our team and we look forward to aligning her skills with the needs of our communities.”
