Rosa ‘ready to lead’ as OneHolyoke’s new executive director

Nayroby Rosa, the new executive director of OneHolyoke CDC.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

HOLYOKE — OneHolyoke CDC will have a new leader at the helm. Nayroby Rosa has been appointed as the next executive director, taking over for outgoing Executive Director Michael Moriarty, who served in the role since 2013.

The thought of Rosa as Moriarty’s successor was first conceived three years ago. At this time, and to better prepare herself to lead the organization, Rosa was accepted into the NeighborWorks America Strong Leaders Program. There, she was provided a mentor to develop a strategic plan for her community engagement department and learn what it means to be a leader. Rosa also went back to school and earned a master’s degree in nonprofit leadership from Bay Path University. “Once I did those two things, I felt [like] ‘okay, now I’m ready to lead, now I’m ready to make the transition,’” Rosa stated in an interview with Reminder Publishing.

Rosa started at OneHolyoke in 2018 as director of community engagement and resident services. She then became the chief operating officer in March before becoming the executive director on July 1.

“It’s been so humbling,” Rosa said about taking the helm. “The amount of support I’ve received from my board, from my current executive director, from my predecessor, from my staff, has been amazing.”

Rosa said her priorities are achieving solvency in the organization and reviewing the organization’s current portfolio to make sure it has everything it needs to function properly. She also plans to study whether OneHolyoke is providing residents with what they need to live in a safe, affordable and dignified home and attractive neighborhoods.

She highlighted the importance of collaboration and community engagement in her interview with Reminder Publishing, areas that she said have been strong points at OneHolyoke during her time with the organization.

Rosa developed a strategic plan with five focus areas within the organization that will allow OneHolyoke to address the needs of the community. The focus areas are: health engagement, community and family engagement, public safety, education engagement and making the Flats community building a hub for its community engagement work.

Regarding the community engagement portion, Rosa said this is where the organization gets the opportunity to explore what the needs of the community are and then figure out who they can collaborate with in the city to address those needs. So far, she’s already heard some concerns from residents, including food insecurity, home safety, children’s education and access to certain health needs.

Rosa said, “She isn’t thriving unless her entire community is thriving and we’re all OneHolyoke.”

The change in leadership was announced at OneHolyoke CDC’s second annual “Building & Sustaining Livable Communities” event on June 29.

Moriarty announced he will continue to serve OneHolyoke as legal counsel going forward.

“Nayroby showed her capacity for leadership as soon as she started working at OneHolyoke CDC eight years ago,” Moriarty said in a statement to Reminder Publishing. “She quickly transformed from an employee to a pillar of the Holyoke community. For some time, I have partnered with her, developing her knowledge and skills about nonprofit leadership, with the capstone being the master’s degree in non-profit leadership and negotiation she earned from Bay Path University in 2026. This has been a planned transition, and now is the time. She will bring a lot to the table for our agency and for Holyoke.”

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll presented Moriarty with a Governor’s Citation recognizing his leadership and service.

Founded in 1971, OneHolyoke CDC has created over 160 new homes in the Flats, Churchill and South Holyoke neighborhoods, rehabilitated hundreds of apartments, and provided thousands of home improvement grants to homeowners through the Neighborhood Improvement program, according to its website.

Rosa said the best way to get in touch with OneHolyoke CDC is by calling its main office at 413-533-7101 or by visiting its website at oneholyoke.org. Its office is located at 70 Lyman St.