Sidney native to take over housing post in Massachusetts

Former Sidney resident Denise Johnson is set to become the first paid executive director of the Andover Community Trust in Massachusetts.

The Andover Community Trust (ACT) is a small nonprofit organization committed to developing permanently affordable housing in Andover, Mass.. ACT was founded by Susan Scott in 1992 on a strong belief that economic diversity is an important contributor to vital and viable communities.

"Diversity, including economic diversity within the community makes that community much more livable," Johnson said. "We're doing something good for people coming into the community as well as new families and the community itself."

Johnson graduated from Sidney High School in 1976. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in art history from Columbia University in New York City. She attained an Associates Degree in Applied Science in accounting and Business administration from Lincoln School of Commerce in Nebraska. She also received her MBA with a concentration in nonprofit management from Suffolk University's Sawyer Business School in Boston in 2013. Johnson served on the Andover Community Trust's board of directors in 2012.

Johnson believes her foundation in Sidney has helped her a tremendous amount along the way. The community provided a blueprint for the additions she would like to help with in Andover.

"Growing up in Sidney made me realize how important a community is to someone's upbringing," Johnson said. "The importance of good schools and the community that surrounds them is an ideal we're trying to bring here in Andover."

"Her skills and experience will be an excellent fit for us," said ACT president John Pearson. "Her time on our board will help make this important transition a smooth one."

Johnson has taken her small town values and is working on pushing those values in Andover so that they might help the community there.

Sidney's diverse economic background has had an effect on Johnson's psyche going into her new position.

"Sidney's a very diverse community, especially as it pertains to economic terms," Johnson said. "That has definitely been a real grounding factor in my work now."

She is married to Mark Johnson, also from Sidney. He is a partner at K&L Gates and head of the East Coast capital markets. They have two children, Graeme and Samantha. The couple has lived in Andover since 1996.