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Renaissance says goodbye to Gozza, names Frangipane as new leader

Dan Hust - Staff Writer
Posted 9/23/16

FERNDALE — After just a year at the helm, Peter Gozza has departed as Sullivan Renaissance's executive director.

“It's an internal shift,” new Executive Director Denise Frangipane told the …

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Renaissance says goodbye to Gozza, names Frangipane as new leader

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FERNDALE — After just a year at the helm, Peter Gozza has departed as Sullivan Renaissance's executive director.

“It's an internal shift,” new Executive Director Denise Frangipane told the Demo­crat. “It was a mutual agreement between the organization and Pete.”

“It was interesting, it was fun, and I loved the new initiatives,” said Gozza, “but in reality my specialty and skill set is in rebuilding downtowns.”

And that's what he's returning to, as his former employer - the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - offered him his old job in Recovery Coordination, and he's off to aid the flooded villages of Louisiana next month.

“My passion, after all these years, is FEMA. It is the most rewarding work I've ever done in my life,” he nods, recalling assignments in New Jersey after the devastation of Superstorm Sandy. “[Helping others] has always been in my blood.”

Not that he disliked his work with Renaissance, which aims to help communities as well.

“I served on the steering committee for years,” he notes.

A lull in FEMA work brought him back from Richmond, Virginia to his hometown of Liberty last year, leading to the leadership of Renaissance as former Executive Director Glenn Pontier's retirement approached.

“It was just wonderful,” Gozza recalls, adding that it allowed him to spend time with his 90-year-old mother before she passed away. “We had a wonderful reconnection.”

Renaissance, meanwhile, turned toward encouraging not just beautiful but healthy communities, which Gozza helped implement.

“He's made many valuable contributions,” acknowledges Frangipane.

“But we realized ... that I'm probably not the person you want,” he matter-of-factly explains.

Gozza says he's leaving a healthy and growing nonprofit, though he does recommend it hire an independent consultant to assess its future and reorganize accordingly, if necessary.

“I hope everybody rallies around the healthy [communities] initiative,” he adds. “This is an absolutely beautiful county. Every time I come back, it takes my breath away.”

He still hopes to see the county's struggling downtowns revive.

“My attitude is, create an environment that attracts investment,” he explains.

Meanwhile, Renaissance is planning for the next season.

“We'll be announcing the 2017 program with exciting initiatives by the beginning of the year,” promises Frangipane, who has been with the Gerry Foundation since 2000. “The staff is super-excited about where we want to go next year.”

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