A Letter from CDI’s Executive Director, Noemi Giszpenc
I first met Andy in person in Shelburne Falls, MA. We had teamed up to get CDI certified as a member of the ROC USA Network, and now he was hard at work helping residents of manufactured home communities gain ownership through resident cooperatives. Unassuming, in a sweatshirt hoodie and jeans and chugging diet soda, he explained to me that his rates doubled once he started wearing a ponytail and bankers figured he must really know his stuff to come across so casually.
Over the course of our decade working together, I was amazed time and time again by the depth of Andy’s knowledge as well as by the firmness of his commitment. Andy came from a stellar career in real estate and finance, but his heart was completely captured by the urgency of securing homeownership for residents. Underneath a sometimes gruff exterior, Andy operated with devotion to the movement as well as to his team members. While not given to a lot of emotional demonstration, each and every person in the NEROC team knew that Andy valued their hard work, brilliance, and the enormous love that they were putting in.
At so many conferences and meetings, I have felt a rush of pride as the growing numbers of Resident Owned Communities and secured homes was trumpeted — we at CDI have been a major part of the story of ROC USA in the past ten years, and Andy’s skill has been the bedrock of our success. Lesser known but also important, Andy has lent his skills to our other programs, notably working with every one of the businesses converting to worker ownership alongside BOS director Rob Brown.
At this time of transition, with Andy moving into a consulting position that will free him up to apply what he does best to continue to serve our mission of building cooperatives in the Northeast, I want everyone to know that we could not be where we are today as an organization without the tremendous contributions of Andy Danforth.
With gratitude, and looking forward to many more years of productive teamwork,
Noemi
It is with sincere pleasure that congratulations go forth to the CDI team, Andy Danforth and NEROC for helping Heritage Village in Warren MA become a community owned park.