The Hanover Board of Selectmen has named Julia Griffin to become Hanover's new Town Manager to replace Cliff Vermilya.
Vermilya was Hanover's chief executive for nearly 13 years. He retired March 1 to become executive director of the Lake Sunapee Protective Association.
Griffin will begin her tenure as the town's manager at the beginning of August.
The Board of Selectmen chose Griffin from 127 applicants, according to a Town of Hanover press release.
Griffin said she chose to apply for the Hanover job because Vermilya had spoken very highly of it to her, she said.
"It really gave me pause," she said of his advice. "It's very rare to hear municipal managers speak that way of their jobs," she said.
She said another factor influencing her decision to come to Hanover was the town's reputation as a nice place to live.
"For me, a big issue was quality of life," she said. She also cited the quality of Hanover's public schools as an incentive to apply for job, calling them "the best in the state."
Griffin said she already has some issues that she wants to work on as town manager.
She cited improving the parking situation in downtown Hanover and exploring options for water treatment and management in the future as two goals of hers.
She said Hanover is unique in that the largest single property-holder here is the College and that she is "looking forward to a partnership with" the College.
But she said she does not yet have any specific ideas as to what form that partnership will take.
"Until I get to Hanover and get a sense of the community here," she said she is unsure what can be done.
Griffin said she is looking forward to managing Hanover, which with 9,000 residents is approximately one third the size of Concord, a city of 30,000.
She said Hanover's smaller size will make her job in Hanover considerably easier.
"I'm looking forward to the positive challenge of working with a smaller group of elected officials," she said. "You sometimes feel like you can't connect with that many people."
Concord has a city council of 15, while Hanover's has only five members.
Griffin worked for Concord for six years, four as the city manager. She said she will take maternity leave from her Concord job after her baby is born in April.
She has worked in management in both Washington, D.C., where she worked for the Agency for International Development, and New York City, where she worked for the Mayor's office, according to the press release.
Additionally, she has worked for the city of Santa Monica, California, as the senior management analyst in the office of the City Manager.
Griffin holds an undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University and has two graduate degrees from Yale University -- a Masters of Arts in International Relations, and a Master's Degree in Public and Private Management, from the Yale School of Management, said the press release.
Jean Ulman will continue as Hanover's interim town manager until August 1, said the press release.
