"It feels like the right time”: Heather Grenier to leave HRDC after nearly a decade as CEO

BOZEMAN, MONT. — Heather Grenier has announced she is stepping aside as president and CEO of HRDC after more than a decade leading the nonprofit, with a leadership change set for January 1. 

Grenier started with the organization in 2000 and went on to help lead several well-known Gallatin Valley projects, including Fork and Spoon and Homeward Point. She has also worked with the organization to provide more than 800 new homes to the region. 
 
She said the decision came as she looked for a new chapter after years with the nonprofit. 
 
"I always have wanted to make sure that I wasn't the leader who stayed too long, and that sometimes the best thing a leader can do is get out of the way; and you know, it feels like it's the right time," Grenier said. 
 
Grenier said she had been thinking about succession planning for years and was now ready to move ahead with it. 
 
"Jeff Rupp, our former CEO, you know, told me, 'From day one, start planning your succession,'" Grenier said. "And I took that to heart, and this is probably my third succession plan, but it's the one that is sticking, you know, and ready to move forward." 
 
Community leaders in Bozeman said Grenier's work and HRDC's role in the area will continue to stand out during the transition. 
 
"Somebody's got to run a shelter, somebody needs to run the food bank, somebody needs to get a bus system off the ground, somebody needs paratransit. In every step of the way, they were the ones to raise their hand and say, 'We'll figure that out, we'll make that work,'" Bozeman Mayor Joey Morrison said. 
 
Grenier confirmed Mark Woodard, HRDC's current chief financial officer, will become the new president and CEO on January 1. HRDC will move into its next chapter with Woodard taking over leadership.