CONCORD, N.H. – Zachery “Zach” Palmer, a Housing Cooperative Specialist at ROC USA Network affiliate ROC-NH, is a recipient of the 2021 “40 Under 40” award from the N.H. Union Leader. At 25 years old, he’s one of this year’s youngest awardees.
The Union Leader presents the “40 Under 40” award to individuals under age 40 who have made a difference in their communities and professions.
Affordable housing continues to be a barrier for working families, seniors, and young families in New Hampshire. Working with the resident-owned communities program, Palmer sees and hears this struggle, and works to create self-help solutions for owners of manufactured homes.
When residents cooperatively purchase their parks, they set the rents, create and enforce the rules, and prioritize how the community’s budget will be used. Resident-ownership preserves and stabilizes this important source of affordable housing.
Palmer is also helping to lead a community economic empowerment pilot program in Manchester, partnering with Manchester NAACP and Deo Mwano Consultancy, to listen to what Black- and Brown-owned businesses in Greater Manchester need to thrive.
Palmer is a 2017 graduate of Southern NH University. He is a current member of Leadership Greater Manchester and the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Young Professional Network, a board member of National Alliance on Mental Illness NH, Community Services committee member of NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire, and a past Equity Leaders Fellow.
Article courtesy of the N.H. Community Loan Fund