NORTHAMPTON — Mayor David J. Narkewicz on Wednesday announced his appointment of former city councilor and United Way executive Linda Desmond as director of senior services.
Desmond, of Florence, is set to succeed Patricia Shaughnessey as head of senior affairs in Northampton beginning Monday. The appointment will be taken up by the City Council on July 14, when it will be referred to committee, according to a statement released by Narkewicz.
Desmond, a city native, recently returned to Northampton after living in Ireland for a decade. She has four decades of experience in elder and social services.
“Linda Desmond brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience to this position,” Narkewicz said in the statement. “She is a compassionate and dynamic leader with the skills and vision to move our Senior Services Department forward.”
She most recently served as regional program director for Crosscare in North Dublin, Ireland. There she developed an initiative to target economically and socially vulnerable men in the Irish capital.
Stateside, Desmond worked as vice president of community investment for the United Way of Hampshire County, served 18 years as director of senior volunteer programs for the Hampshire Community Action Commission. She served five years on the Northampton City Council and 17 years on the Council on Aging.
Desmond has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s in social work and a graduate certificate in gerontology from the University of Connecticut.