NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania (NeighborWorks) announces today that Shane K. Powers has been selected as its next president and CEO. Powers, who currently serves as the organization’s chief operating officer, will replace Jesse J. Ergott, who is departing in late April 2024.
“We thank Jesse for his service and contributions to NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania over the past two decades,” said Teddy Michel, NeighborWorks board chair. “We wish him well in his future endeavors and are fortunate to have someone of Shane’s caliber ready to step into this role as we launch into an exciting new chapter of opportunity for our organization."
“Shane will lead a talented team at NeighborWorks, one that is focused on extending our strong track record of collaboration, innovation and impact,” Michel continued. “She will undoubtedly continue the organization’s trajectory of meaningful community leadership.”
Powers, who joined NeighborWorks on Jan. 3, 2022, brings extensive experience in relationship management, securing funding awards, scaled project delivery, staffing optimization and programmatic expansion. Her knowledge of operations, combined with a foundational belief in metrics and data analysis, enables her to develop coherent visions, strategies, and objectives. In her role as COO, Shane collaborated with the team to enhance operating capacity and strategy execution as the organization grew its geographic and programmatic reach throughout northeastern Pennsylvania. During her time with NeighborWorks, the organization added thirteen new team members, has doubled its operating budget, and added three counties to its service area.
“I am very excited to begin this next chapter and work alongside the NeighborWorks Board of Directors, community partners and our NeighborWorks team. I’m eager to listen and engage with these key stakeholders as we deliver on our mission to create stable, vibrant communities by amplifying the voices of residents and providing critical housing assistance, financial guidance, community development services and proactive partnerships,” said Powers.
Prior to joining NeighborWorks, Shane served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Tunkhannock Area School District from 2018 to 2021. She was responsible for the operations of non-education systems of the school district, such as the Business Office, Facilities, Transportation, Food Service and Human Resources. During her time in this role, she led operational system breakthroughs to reopen the school district during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, she collaborated with leaders across the district to reduce operational expenses for three consecutive years at the district to deliver an increased fund balance. She also led the physical consolidation of three elementary buildings, including the relocation of all teachers, equipment, and supplies to a central campus.
Prior to Tunkhannock School District she had served as a General Manager at DHL Supply Chain from 2014 to 2018, where she was responsible for the logistics operation servicing the P&G manufacturing facility. During her time with DHL, she drove numerous site improvements, such as the site achieving one year injury-free, delivering year-on-year cost savings, and realizing improvements to site employee satisfaction scores.
Shane began her career at Procter and Gamble where she worked in a variety of operational roles from 1994 to 2009. Prior to starting her career in operations, she received her Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1994.
She is also very active in the local community and has a track record of involved community leadership. She currently serves on the boards of Metro Action and the Wyoming County Community Alliance and participates on the strategic planning committee of the Wyoming County Cultural Center and the AllOne Foundations & Charities Community Strategies group.
Shane currently resides in Tunkhannock with her husband Christopher and two of her three children. Her oldest son now resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
